Founded 1926 by Axel B. Johnson
SEPTEMBER 1930
Edited by
ROBERT DONALDSON DARRELL
j ' 1 1 HI 1 1 U I iTI 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 u i n 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 n 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 h n 1 1 1 1 1 u m )) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 m 1 1 1 1 1 1 m 1 1 n 1 1 m 1 1 m 1 1 n n 1 1 1 m n m i n n 1 1 1 r m h 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I I I I I I n i n 1 1 m
MUSIC LOVERS'
MONTHLY,, REVIEW
Olio
THE INTERNATIONAL RECORD DEPARTMENT
“The real standard of life is not of quantity but of qual-
ity ; not of money but of character.” In this, we agree with
Mr. Coolidge, for the real standard of our business is based
on quality — not quantity. Although we stock one of the
largest collections of records in the world — nevertheless
our stock is founded on quality. We believe that the earn-
ings of a business equals its character. In this way, we
keep perfect faith with our customers and inspire others
to visit our shops.
‘// It ’s Recorded
We Can Supply It 99
Calvin Coolidge Has Said —
Importations We Recommend
BRAHMS— VARIATIONS ON A THEME OP PAG-
ANINI, played by Wilhelm Backhaus. Two im-
ported Victor discs. Price $5.00. In album if you
wish, $5.40.
HAYDN— SYMPHONY NO. 13 in G MAJOR, played
by Vienna Philharmonic Symphony under Clemens
Krauss. Three ten inch imported Victor discs in
Album. Our Price $4.90
MOZART— QUARTET IN C MAJOR, K 465, played
by Deman Quartet. Four Polydor discs in our al-
bum. Our Price $6.25
MOZART — QUARTET IN G MAJOR, K 387, played
by the Bener Quartet. Four imported Columbia discs,
in album. Price $8.00
MOZART— DIE ENTFUHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL,
Martern aller arten, sung- by Maria Nemeth. Im-
ported Victor disc. Price $2.00
WAGNER — RHEINGOLD, WEICHE W O T A N
WEICHE, and Kienzl’s Der Evang*elimann, O schone
Jug-entag-e, sung by Karin Branzell. Polydor disc,
$1.50
PAGANINI-LISZT — ANDANTINO CAFRICCIOSA,
and La Cliasse, piano solos played by Claudio Arrau.
Polydor disc $1.50
PAGANINI-LISZT — TREMOLO, and Theme and
Variations, piano solos played by Claudio Arrau. Poly-
ior disc $1.50
BRAHMS — FELDENSAMXEIT, and SCHUMANN’S
Du bist wie eine Blume, sung by Julia Culp. Im-
ported Victor electrical recording $1.50
SCHUMANN— DER NUSSBAUM, and WOLF’S Ver-
bogenheit, sung by Julia Culp. Imported Victor elec-
trical recording $1.50
SCHUBERT — DER LINDENBAUM, and Tod und das
Madchen, sung by Julia Culp. Imported Victor elec-
trical recording $2.00
Our mail order department serves you promptly and efficiently. Every
record inspected, carefully packed and insured against breakage, assuring you
of their safe delivery.
Send for free copy of our Music
Lover’s Guide and Catalog, giving
you Program Notes on the better
imported recordings.
Ill EAST 14TH STREET
Uptown Store
243 West 34th St.
Brooklyn Store
1225 Broadway
An independent American journal devoted to recorded music and phonography
Founded 1926 by Axel B. Johnson
Phonograph
Monthly
eview
AXEL B. JOHNSON
Associate Editor
ROBERT DONALDSON DARRELL
Managing Editor
Published by
THE PHONOGRAPH PUBLISHING CO., Inc.
5 Boylston Street , Cambridge , Massachusetts
Telephone UNIversity 1618
THE PHONOGRAPH MONTHLY REVIEW appears on the
twenty-eighth of each month. All material is fully protected
by copyright and may be reproduced only by permission.
Yearly subscription price $4.00 in the United States and $5.00
in Canada and other foreign countries, postage prepaid. Single
copies 35 cents.
All communications should be addressed to the Managing
Editor at the Studio, 5 Boylston Street, Cambridge, Massa-
chusetts. All unsolicited contributions must be accompanied
by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
All checks and money orders should be made out to THE
PHONOGRAPH PUBLISHING CO., Inc.
Editorial
T HE dawn of a new phonographic day, hailed
so cheerfully in the pages of this and the
other phono-musical journals, is no tropical
sunrise accurately splitting darkness and light.
The fog of a few years ago has thinned down to
a morning mist, but good eyes, brightened by op-
timism, are still necessary to see the sun itself.
The metaphor is a simple one, but it gives occa-
sion for thought. The mists of incomprehension
and misconstruction of phonography still blind the
minds of even those who profess themselves sup-
porters of the phonograph. A contributor re-
marked recently that phonography today had more
to fear from its friends than its enemies. The
Phonograph Monthly Review long since point-
ed out the remarkable evolution in the character of
the record-buying public, an evolution which is pro-
gressing with constantly accelerating speed, as in-
dicated by the growing articulation of the record
buyers’ tastes and ideas. Five years ago it was
comparatively easy for a person of moderate cir-
cumstances to purchase all the significant record-
ings as they appeared. Indeed the major American
releases were rare enough to incite to direct im-
portation of European works during the lean
months in this country. Today, with the import-
ing dealers’ stocks of foreign discs doubling the
extensive native lists, anything approaching a
comprehensive collection of even one type of re-
corded music is impossible to all save the extremely
wealthy. Yet a surprising number of phonophiles
continue to cry like spoiled children because they
cannot have everything.
The ever-burning subject of record costs is per-
haps the most fiercely debated and the least under-
stood. Letters from our readers discuss this topic
ad infinitum, yet it is only an occasional corres-
pondent who reveals a clear conception of the
problems involved. Unfortunately, there are
many inconsistencies in the establishment of disc
prices, recognized by the manufacturer as well as
by his critics, yet which cannot readily be correct-
ed. Not infrequently our correspondents rebuke
us for not taking up cudgels for lower prices, but
they fail to realize that prices in themselves are
only a factor of investment in records. As in any
investment, the real question is whether the yield,
or interest on one’s money, is good, and whether it
can be depended upon to continue for a certain
number of years. There are discs on the market
which cost fifteen cents and others that cost two
dollars and a half. What are the qualities of the
fifteen-cent record? How long can it be played
and how long will one want to play it? What is its
effect upon one’s musical growth ? The same ques-
tions apply to the other disc, which while more ex-
pensive in the beginning may prove to be very
much the less costly in the end.
In reviews and articles we have endeavored to
judge each record by itself. Just as the bases for
musical criteria are different in different types of
records, so the standards of worth must be differ-
ent.
It is encouraging to find others advancing the
same thought. Mr. Compton Pakenham, the alert
See last page for Table of Contents
Copyright, 1930, by the Phonograph Publishing Company, Inc.
398
The Phonograph Monthly Review
and far-ranging editor of the record review de-
partment appearing regularly in the New York
Times , attacks it in his article August 3rd.
“The complaint of more than one correspondent dealing
with the matter of prices or records is thoroughly appreciat-
ed. As has been frequently stated, it requires a small for-
tune to establish and maintain anything like a comprehen-
sive library of records. Nor is an attempt in this direction
made any easier by the frequent additions. This has been
even more accentuated recently since foreign pressed records
have come out of the class of rareties. Present conditions
have resolved the question into one of what to take out of
a large list. But this does not settle the difficulty of price.
As there is no immediate likelihood of there being any re-
duction in the better class of records, two companies hav-
ing only recently raised their rates, the only outlet that can
be suggested is in another direction. A search through the
catalogues without going to the celebrity selections will dis-
close a surprising amount of good music, creditably played,
at half and less than the more elaborately featured num-
bers.
“In this regard an article in the June number of The Na-
tional Phonograph Review (sic), a Boston monthly, gave a
comprehensive list of records bearing black and other lower
priced seals, which could be included in the collection of the
most demanding and require no apology.”
(The article referred to is “Bargain Counter”
by Roy Gregg in our June 1930 issue. Mr. Paken-
ham is a little vague concerning our title, but his
comment is nonetheless appreciated.)
Searching the black lists, however, is only one
method of practicing judicious record investment.
There are bargains in $2.00 and $2.50 discs as
well as in those for 75c and $1.25. There are some
musical works and some recorded performances
that would be cheap at any price.
Many record buyers are singularly self-cen-
tered, often to the extent that they are violently
annoyed by the manifestoes of other wings of the
phonographic party. One of the letters in this
month’s correspondence column touches on the
whims of “phono-cranks,” although the “histori-
cal fanatics” at whom D. H. D. smiles are no less
sincere than he, nor do they derive less pleasure
from their discs. Yet his amusement is not entire-
ly unjustified, for surely there is no extreme to
which the connoisseurs of “out-of-print” discs
will not go. The fanatical quality — and particu-
larly the exhibition of purely collecting manias —
is a tremendous handicap to the general develop-
ment of phonography. The faddists are a very
small minority today (fortunately, I think), and
if they oftentimes command more attention than
their forward-looking bretheren it is because they
are more energetic and voluble.
Among the better balanced element of the
phonographic public there is still small common
ground of interest and taste. A few days ago an
enthusiast of the old school visited the office and
talked needle track aligment, dynamic levelling of
instruments, and such points, all of which would
probably be so much Esperanto to the average
Amercan record buyer. In this country there is
too little emphasis on technical points; I am in-
clined to believe that in England there is too much.
One collector buys discs almost’ wholly on their
recording qualities; another on their purely mu-
sical qualities. The manufacturer is confronted
with an almost incalculable variety of demands to
take into consideration.
A glance at the releases of a single month — those
reviewed in this issue are quite typical — shows
how well the diversity of tastes has been recog-
nized. The Phonograph Monthly Review at-
tempts to cover the same range of interests, with
news value, musical significance, and the num-
ber of persons likely to be interested the bases
by which the proportionate attention paid to each
interest is to be determined.
A publication of this kind and at this stage of
progress must be primarily expository. The best
articles are those which are confined strictly to a
certain portion of the recorded repertory, classify
it, analyze it, and give the novice some indication
of what enjoyment and cultural values it holds
for him. In reviewing current releases of any
significance it is not sufficient to make a flat state-
ment that the record is good or bad. The music,
its form and qualities, information on the com-
poser and incidents of its composition, anything
that gives a better understanding of the work is
pertinent. In a larger work, if it is to be given
the attention it merits, there is a bulky cargo of
material bound up with the piece and its recorded
performance, — material which an endeavor is be-
ing made to embody in the “longer reviews” as
distinct from the notes of briefer mention.
The staunchness with which the sale of the bet-
ter class of records weathered the recent general
business depression, and the elasticity with which
it is already anticipating the banner season to
come, is convincing testimony to the soundness of
the demand for fine recorded music. But as yet
the vast bulk of material available is only ore —
essentially rich, but often crude. The nature of
the public’s support will determine the quality of
the refining process. In the end the public gets
very much what it wants. If those who are inter-
ested in the highest musical types and qualities
fail to make tangible expression of that interest,
they have no one to blame but themselves if the
brave experiments already made are not repeated.
Contributors To This Issue
R. P. Blackmur, Cambridge, Massachusetts, was
formerly an editor of the Hound and Horn. He is a
frequent contributor to the New Republic and New
Freeman, and is the author of one of the articles in
the recently published anti-Humanism symposium,
Critique of Humanism.
Richardson Brown, Waban, Massachusetts, is the
editor of a new record review column in the Musical
Leader.
W. S. Marsh, Providence, Rhode Island, is the prin-
cipal American authority on recorded Spanish and
Spanish-American music, and the author of Musical
Spain from A to Z.
Peter Hugh (Reed, Kew Gardens, Long Island, is
one of the leading phono-musical critics. His articles
and record reviews have appeared in Musical America,
the Etude, Disques, and many other journals. He was
one of the first, if not the first to broadcast record re-
views.
William Henry Seltsam, Bridgeport, Connecticut,
reviewed the Stokowski recording of Strawinski’s Sacre
in the June 1930 issue. His article on Petrouchka was
published' last month, and his notes on Apollo will
appear in an early issue.
September, 1930, Vol. IV, No. 12
399
From the Rio Grande to Cape Horn
By W. S. MARSH
A survey of the recorded music of Latin America
B ELOW the Southern boundary of the United
States there lies a vast territory, to a con-
sciousness of which we are just beginning
to awaken, especially since Col. Charles Lind-
bergh’s airplane tour of its northern portion. The
countries comprising this territory have pro-
gressed tremendously during the past decade, in
population, in commerce, in education, in science,
in literature, and in all the arts. Although they
are our neighbors, and purchase from us immense
quantities of merchandise, to many they are more
truly “foreign” than if separated from us by an
ocean.
But we are beginning to learn more of these
neighbors over whom, shines the Southern Cross.
Our interest is becoming intrigued ; and those who
can are setting out to learn still more by actual
visits — and there are many points of interest to
the traveler. Furthermore, an extensive program
of building good roads has been laid out, to make
travel easy for the motorist.
As an agent for increasing sympathy, knowledge
and understanding, Music again comes as an Am-
bassador of Good Will; for as we listen (if music
is anything more to us than “a plaything for
women and a pastime for men”), we are led al-
most inevitably to inquire, “What of the people
who are responsible for these melodies, harmonies,
and rhythms?” And as we listen sympathetically,
we can, perhaps, sense the beating of their hearts,
the stirring of theii? minds and souls, if we heed
the inclination to learn more about them, their
history, their traditons, and their aspirations:
For Man and Music can never be separated.
And so we turn again to our old friend, the
phonograph, that, though we are perchance forced
td remain at home, yet we may listen to some of
the music of Latin America. Although we look
in vain for recordings of the most important and
significant compositions, by the many and bril-
liant and talented composers, there is still much
of interest in the folk songs, dances, and lighter
composed music, that is melodious and entertain-
ing.
Brazil was settled by the Portuguese, and Portu-
guese is the language that prevails there. In
Guadaloupe, Martinique, and Haiti is found the
French influence. But Spaniards settled all the
other southern countries and gave them their
language. One would, therefore, naturally expect
to (and does) find a Spanish flavor in some of
this music. The Indian, except in a few localities,
had made little impression musically, as the penta-
tonic scale upon which his melodies are built makes
for uninteresting monotony. Curiously enough,
the ubiquitous Negro has exercised the strongest
influence, especially in rhythm. But the people of
Latin America have not been slavishly dependent
on others: Out of loneliness and suffering they
have evolved a music all their own — a new and
different language of song and melody.
Let us, therefore, step across the Rio Grande,
and see what we can discover in our neighboring
country, Mexico.
By some it is thought that the primitive people
of the Americas came over from Asia ; others be-
lieve them to have originated and developed where
the white man found them. Be that as it may,
when the Spaniards descended on Mexico they
found a civilization that had been in existence
since before Christ walked the earth — a civiliza-
tion that was well governed in civic and social life,
with an excellent moral code, and a religion that,
although disfigured by horrible human sacrifice,
sufficed the particular temperament of the people
better, perhaps, than that which was forced upon
them as a substitute. Here mathematics, cho-
nology, writing, architecture, and sculpture were
in a well-advanced state. Of the various peoples
found in this vicinity, the Aztecs were the most
dynamic and aggressive, but though they domi-
nated, they intermarried with, and assimilated the
best in knowledge and culture of the peoples whom
they brought under subjection.
We cannot help but regret that this remarkable
civilization should have been extinguished by such
bloody butchery as history has recorded. Neverthe-
less, we must not forget that the Spaniards, far
from home, among hordes of (to them) savages,
may have considered necessary the methods used
to gain control of the country. The conquistador es
were not by any means merely plunderers. They
too suffered and died — for what to them appeared
to be right. They performed an incalculable ser-
vice by bringing seeds and domestic animals into
the country. Without their persistent efforts, it
is difficult to estimate how long both North and
South America would have been closed to the white
races. So inextricably has Spain been connected
with the earlier development of the two continents
that her music, and the music of the regions where
her culture has impressed itself, ought to hold an
intense interest for us.
And so we find in Mexico today people of un-
adulterated Spanish blood; the half-breed ( mes-
tizo ), descendant of white and Indian; and the
full-blooded Indian. There is also an admixture of
Negro blood.
400
The Phonograph Monthly Review
In introducing the music of Mexico, I am not
going to start with La Paloma and La Golondrina,
beautiful though they may be, as these songs are
well known to nearly everyone; but I shall start
with some of the less familiar songs and dances
(folk and composed) — little songs about flowers,
birds, trees, fountains, lovely maidens and their
charms — all the beauties of the commonplace
things of life translated into words and melodies.
There is a touch of sadness to many of these
songs — not the sadness of melancholy, expressed
by dismal chords and lugubrious rhythms, but
rather a wistful pathos that is not depressing to
the listener.
In regard to the records, I would call attention
to the fact that they are not ordinarily carried in
stock by the dealer. If you live where there is a
Spanish colony, you will probably find there a
little music store which carries a stock of Spanish
and Latin American records ; otherwise, your
dealer will have to order them for you.
With the passing of the acoustical recording,
many of the discs have disappeared from the cata-
logs, and they are not being re-recorded. I am
therefore omitting several interesting records
which I have in my library, as they are no longer
obtainable.
The Mexican Ministry of Education has started
to collect and popularize the folk songs of the coun-
try, as they are being rapidly crowded out by the
modern music. On Victor 79176, the chorus of
the Secretary of Education sings two of these
songs : Las Mahanitas — “The Little Mornings.”
This is the type of song sung by young people on
their way home from an entertainment, in the
“small hours.” On the other side of the disk is
La Paloma Blanca — “The White Dove,” by the
well-known composer, Miguel Lerdo de Tejada,
sung by the mixed chorus of 35 voices, unaccom-
panied. This disk is really a fine example of
choral recording. This same chorus has also re-
corded the song so popular in revolutionary per-
iods that it has been called “the Mexican Marseil-
laise” — La Valentina (Victor 79242). The song
is not very war-like as to the music, which is a
quiet melody in triple time. Neither have the
words a bloodthirsty theme, as they tell the story
of a wandering drunkard, as he repeats it to a girl
named Valentina. On the other side of the disk
the chorus sings La Peregrina — “The Pilgrim,” by
R. Palmerin, one of the typical songs of Yucatan.
From Lower California comes A la Luz de la
Luna — “By the Light of the Moon” (Victor
79238), which is apparently a variation and am-
plification of the folk song by that name.
In the towns and cities there are little bands
of street musicians called mariachis , who go about
singing, and playing on violin, guitar, a crude
kind of harp, etc. They do not give a very artistic
performance, but perhaps you would like to hear
one of them — Mariachi Coculense Rodriguez, on
Victor 79413. This disk has El Camino Real —
“The Highway” on one side; and El Durazno —
“The Peach Tree” on the other.
A folk song that I have found very popular with
all who hear it is the corrido, Soy Virgencita —
“Pm a Little Maiden” (Columbia 3390-X). Co-
rrido means “an event of the time,” and should not
be confused with corrida , the word for “bullfight.”
The corrido is a topical ballad dealing with some
happening in the everyday life of the people. Many
of them originate in the pulquerias — drinking
shops selling nothing but pulque, an intoxicating
drink obtained from the maguey plant. There
are many of these corridos, some of them quite
interesting. Among them may be mentioned
Hermosas Puentes — “Beautiful Fountains” (Col-
umbia 2556-X) ; and El Adolorido — “The Mourn-
ful One” (Columbia 2559-X), the latter by Al-
fonso Esparza Oteo, a popular contemporary com-
poser.
A iovely little folk song from the State of
Michoacan, Adios, Mariquita Linda — “Farwell,
Lovely Mary,” is sung as a duet on Victor 79034.
Among other folk songs may be mentioned Te
Vengo a Decir Adios — “I am Come to Tell Thee
Farewell” (Columbia 2626-X) ; Una Noche Serena
y Obscura—“ Dark and Quiet Night” (Victor
46406) sung as a duet with guitar accompani-
ment, and illustrating this typical use of the
guitar ; Uy Tara Lala (Victor 81915) , an odd song
from the lowlands along the coast ( abajeho ) ;
Guiri, Guiri (Victor 79363), a Yaqui song from
the northern cattle country; and El Novillo Des-
puntado—P The Bull with the Blunted Horns,”
(Columbia 2567-X), one of the many gay little
canciones , which is the word commonly used for
“song.”
The tango rhythm is found in many Mexican
songs, which are called danzas . This same rhythm
(a dotted eighth note followed by a sixteenth, con-
stituting the first beat in a measure of 2/4 time)
is also found in the Cuban habanera , the Brazilian
maxixe, the Porto Rican danza, and the Argentine
tango. Friedenthal states that this rhythm orig-
inated in a grotesque Negro dance called the
tango; but this, of course, had little in common
with the Argentine dance by that name. An ex-
tremely popular song in danza form is Esperon’s
La Borrachita — “The Little Tippler” (Columbia
2220-X) , a soprano solo with orchestral accom-
paniment. Jesse Crawford has also recorded it as
an organ solo (Victor 21111) ; the vocal version
gives a better idea of the composition. An older
danza , but one very typical, is La Per jura — “The
Perjured One” (Columbia C-2689), by M. Lerdo
de Tejada. This is an acoustical recording, but it
is still retained in the catalog. Another especially
pretty danza is Adios a Guadalajara — “Farewell
to Guadalajara” (Victor 78566).
A graceful, lively dance from the State of Jalis-
co, but popular ail over Mexico, is the jarabe
tapatio. (The Jaliscans are also called tapatios.)
In this dance, a man and girl perform various
steps before and around each other. The gentle-
man wears a huge sombero , which he throws to
. the ground, and the girl dances in and around its
brim. At the end of the dance, she picks up the
hat and places it on her partner’s head. On Vic-
tor 46569 there is a medley of Jarabes played by
a Mexican orchestra, which gives a very good idea
of the music of this dance.
September, 1930, Vol. IV, No. 12
401
There is almost no biographical data available
concerning Mexican composers. Julian Carillo,
composer, artist, and conductor, and developer of
the “Thirteenth Tone,” has been brought to our
attention lately through the recording of his Pre-
ludio a Cristobal Colon (Columbia 50216-D) (See
The Phonograph Monthly Review, June,
1930).
Manuel M. Ponce, beloved composer and pianist,
who spends much of his time in France, is best
known for that delightful little song, Estrellita —
“Little Star” (Victor 78807). There have been
several recordings made of this song by various
companies and artists. A la Orilla de un Palmar
— “Beside the Palms” (Victor 1181) is not so well
known in this country, but is also very pleasing.
“Serenata Mexicana (Victor 79238) is written
in the style typical of Mexican serenade.
Miguel Lerdo de Tejada, pianist and composer,
and director of the Coro Tipico Mexicano, whose
La Paloma Blanca and La Per jura have already
been mentioned, is the composer of many popular
songs, among them the waltz, El Faisan — “The
Pheasant” (Columbia 2509-X).
Alfonso Esparza Oteo is the composer of the
exceedingly popular Mi Viejo Amor — “My Old
Love” (Victor 79291), which has been recorded
so many times. He is also the composer of the
canciones, Mi Gusto Es — “It is My Pleasure” (Col-
umbia 2567-X) ; and Las Tres Palomas — “The
Three Doves” (Victor 46024), the latter being
especially attractive. His Adolorido has previous-
ly been referred to. „
Eduardo Vigil y Robles, another prominent con-
temporary composer, is the writer of Las Cuatro
Milpas — “The Four Cornfields” (Columbia
2556-X) an attractive waltz cancion which has
achieved much popularity.
So far as the writer knows, Maria Grever is the
only Latin American woman who has attained
success as a composer. From a musical stand-
point, her compositions are very well constructed.
Perhaps the best known of these is the tango can-
cion , Jurame — “Promise Me” (Columbia 3246-X) .
Among her other recorded compositions are the
' cancion , Loca , Loca — “Mad, Mad” (Columbia
2383-X) ; the tango cancion, Todo por Ti — “All
for Thee” (Victor 78952) ; and the waltz cancion ,
A Una Ola — “To a Wave” (Victor 46274), one of
her later efforts.
Another prolific young composer is Belisario de
Jesus Garcia, who has written many songs in the
fox-trot rhythm. La Cancion de la Escoba — “The
Song of the Broom” (Victor 78605) will serve to
illustrate this composer’s style, as most of us are
only too familiar with the fox trot.
Ignacio Fernandez Esperon, popularly known as
“Tata Nacho,” is a young entertainer and com-
poser whose works today are in much demand. He
has recently recorded three of his own composi-
tions on Victor 46384: La Culebra — “The Ser-
pent”; Joliana ; and El Arrepentido — “The Peni-
tent.” His droll rendition of the two latter songs
makes it easy to understand his popularity as an
entertainer. Besides La Borrachita , already men-
tioned, he is the composer of El Chilpayate — “The
Cricket” (Columbia 2628-X) ; La Guay aba — “The
Guava” (Columbia 2628-X) ; Que Triste Estoy —
“How Sad Am I” (Victor 79034) ; and Dime In-
grata — “Tell Me, Ungrateful One” (Victor
46024). These songs are characteristic Mexican
melodies, in which the composer shows a real gift
for melodic invention. Esperon has also been en-
gaged in collecting and popularizing folk songs
for the Ministry of Education.
One m^ght go on almost indefinitely naming at-
tractive songs by various Mexican composers, such
as Cancion Mixteca — “Mixtecan Song” (Victor
81915), by Jose Lopez Alvarez; El Suspiro — “The
Sigh,” a whimsical cancion by Lauro U. Uranga ;
a charming serenade, Uruapan Hermosa — “Beau-
tiful Uruapan,” and a waltz cancion , Una Manana
de Horas Negras — “A Gloomy Morning,” two
songs by Ignacio M. Valle which have recently
been very popular, both recorded on Victor 46359.
But those enumerated will be sufficient to give an
idea of the variety and attractiveness of Mexican
music. As before stated, all these are folk songs,
or light compositions of a popular nature. I have
been unable to find that any of the efforts of the
more serious composers have been recorded.
( The concluding section of Mr. Marsh's ar-
ticle will deal with the recorded music of Carib-
bean and South American countries.)
Victor Symphonic Awards
Announcement of the judges’ decision in the Victor con-
test for the best symphonic work by an American composer,
was planned for last fall, but owing to the large number of
meritous manuscripts submitted and the extraordinary care
exercised by the board of judges a final choice was not made
until August 15th. So close were the leaders that a deci-
sion was made to award five $5,000 prizes instead of the
single $25,000 grand prize. Three of the winners are already
well-known;' the fourth — two of whose compositions drew
awards — is less familiar to the public.
The prize-winning compositions were as follows: Sights and
Sounds, and Abraham Lincoln, by Robert Russell Bennett,
who like many other composers of the younger school has
studied with Naida Boulanger at the Fountainebleau school in
France. A Symphony by Louis Gruenberg, composer of
The Daniel Jazz, Enchanted Isles, and other works fre-
quently played in concert. Helvetia by Ernest Bloch, whose
symphony — America — won the Musical America prize a few
seasons back. A Dance Symphony by Aaron Copland, one
of the more significant names in the younger American
school, whose Music for the Theatre, Organ Symhony , and
Piano Concerto have attracted widespread attention.
The Board of Judges (Rudolph Ganz, Serge Koussevitzky,
Olga Samaroff, Frederick Stock, and Leopold Stokowski) re-
ported that the general level of merit in the works submitted
was exceptionally high. Under the terms of the contest they
had the right to award the prize money to any project de-
voted to the development of creative music in America. They
therefore suggested, in recognition of the magnificent efforts
of the four winning composers, and to assure them the se-
curity and leisure in their work of composition for at least
a year, that the sum of $5,000 be awarded the works of these
men — outstanding in creative musical work in this country.
It is planned to present the composers and excerpts from
their works in a broadcast program to be given over a nation-
wide hook-up of the National Broadcasting Company some-
time during the coming season. Recordings of the works un-
doubtedly will soon follow.
The Victor Symphonic Contest was the second of two
contests conducted by Victor for American composers. The
first, planned to discover the best instrumental work in the
popular field, was won by Thomas Griselle with Two Ameri-
can Sketches, and Rube Bloom, whose Song of the BayoU
took second place.
402
The Phonograph Monthly Review
The Ballets of Igor Strawinski
By WILLIAM HENRY SELTSAM
2. The Firebird
I T was the originality and vitality of Strawin-
ski’s Fireworks that prompted Diaghileff to
commission him to compose a ballet on the
legendary theme of Kostchei the Immortal.
Rimsky-Korsakow had composed an opera by that
name and the Russians (Karsavina and Theodore
Kosloff in London) had danced the brief supple-
mentary story of the Firebird and Prince Ivan
to music by Tschaikowsky. Instead of stressing
Kostchei as the principal character, however,
Prince Ivan was magnified and the Firebird was
a sort of “guardian angel” over the Prince while
he was seeking the hand of a beautiful princess.
What Strawinski gave us in the line of music
stands the test of time, perhaps more so than Le
Sacre du Printemps will. It is to be regretted that
one does not have at least an occasional chance to
see the stage production of this charming and
colorful ballet. Since the visit of the Ballet Russe
to this country in 1916, when Leonide Massine
(now with Roxy’s establishment in New York)
danced the role of the Prince, there has been no
production. It is still in the repertoire of the
Diaghileff organization and there have been per-
sistent rumors that that organization would re-
turn to this country for another tour, which, one
trusts will not prove so disastrous financially as
that of 1916. The Metropolitan Opera Company
might do well to produce the Firebird , for it is
certainly as melodious and colorful as Petrouchka.
The story is intriguing. In the night, Ivan
Tsarvich, the hero of the legend, wanders into an
enchanted garden (the first record of the com-
poser’s version for Columbia is the most complete
version of this section and is very well recorded)
when he discovers the Firebird. She is attempt-
ing to pick the golden apples from a silver tree.
He captures her but foregoes his quarry when he
is promised one of her glowing feathers as a re-
ward, the feather being a talisman against all evil
(the first part of Columbia 67600-D, the only re-
corded version of this adagio movement). The
Firebird disappears and the night lifts. Ivan is
really in the grounds of a large castle. He sees
statues everywhere. Presently a group of thir-
teen princesses appear, shake the silver tree and
scramble for the golden apples as they fall. They
toss the apples about while they dance (second
half of Columbia 67600-D. This is also recorded
on H.M.V. D-1510). After Ivan steps from his
hiding place the princesses dance a Khorovode,
one of the most delightful sections of the ballet
music, in fact, in all Strawinskiana.
With the full light of the dawn the princesses
go into the castle. Ivan is about to enter the gate
of the castle when a horrible din of discordant
music and bells greets the ears. Ivan is confronted
with a grotesque horde of freakish monsters, fol-
lowed by the King Kostchei himself. Kostchei
tries to bewitch Ivan and turn him into stone.
Suddenly it dawns on Ivan that all these statues
he has seen are humans turned into stone and kept
in bondage by this great ogre. Ivan, protected by
the Firebird’s feather, seeks her aid. She comes
to him, causing Kostchei’s power over him to be
broken, and compelling both the King and his mot-
ley band to break into a furious dance (Danse In-
fernale). While the dance is in progress, the
Firebird tells Ivan that Kostchei’s soul is im-
prisoned in a huge egg, which, if broken, would
cause the soul to unit with the King’s body and
cause his death. She discloses the hiding place of
this egg and at the height of the exciting dance,
when Kostchei’s subjects are dropping from ex-
haustion, Ivan dashes the egg to the ground.
Kostchei falls dead.
The castle vanishes; the stone statues become
human ; all of Kostchei’s victims are liberated. As
Ivan receives the hand of the most beautiful of
the thirteen princesses, the Firebird soars upward
and disappears, her mission completed (this finale
is recorded on the Edison-Bell and Columbia ver-
sions only, for some obscure reason being omitted
from the Stokowski Victor set) .
The complete ballet has never been recorded, but
the composer’s version includes the complete suite
with the “Supplications” and “Dance of the Golden
Apples” (second record) added. Incidentally,
Strawinski’s set is the only complete version of the
orchestral suite. The Stokowski set leaves out the
7/4 music of the finale and the Edison-Bell is cut
in the Introduction, the Danse Infernale and the
Berceuse. While the Defosse (Edison-Bell) read-
ing is essentially a ballet reading, the tempos are
often taken too slowly, for instance, the Danse
Infernale from which he likewise curiously omits
the first sixteen measures of music in 2/4 tempo.
On the other hand, Stokowski drags his “Dance
of the Princesses” (the Khorovode on part two)
so that the last nineteen measures are carried over
to part three, thus breaking up the entire set (his
old acoustical version got it all in one side) . That
break also causes trouble in the Danse Infernale
and the Berceuse. Aside from the better Stokow-
ski orchestra, the Strawinski set is the most in-
teresting for the general music lover. Possibly in
the future Columbia may record the missing por-
tions of the ballet so as to give us the complete
ballet recording.
September, 1930, Vol. IV, No. 12
The Firebird, next to Petrouchka, should be of
great interest to the musically inclined person.
The former probably has the more contrasting
music of the two : we have the graceful and beau-
tiful melody of the Khorovode, the Berceuse and
the Finale; we have the music of the Firebird’s
dance which is more of a description of movement
than being descriptive of the Firebird; and then
we have at the other extreme the descripti ve music
of the terribleness of Kostchei and his followers.
When we listen to this oldest of Strawinskian bal-
lets we marvel and rejoice at the ability of the
phonograph to give them to us for personal study
and enjoyment.
3. Pulcinella
W E have only a fragment of Pulcinella in
recorded form, if we speak in compari-
son to other recorded Strawinskiana.
Pulcinella was performed for the first time by the
Diaghileff organization at the Opera, Paris, on
May 15, 1920. The choreography was by Leonide
Massine and the scenery and costumes, by the
noted Picasso. Pulcinella was danced by Massine,
Pimpinella by Karsavina, Prudenza by Tcher-
nicheva and Rosetta by Nemtchinova (Mordkin’s
guest partner in America a year or so ago). Even
old Ceccheti stepped out of his old age and created
a new part — that of the Doctor.
Strawinski did not compose the melodies of the
ballet — they were borrowed from Pergolesi (1710-
1736), but Strawinski’s scoring — need one com-
ment? Pulcinella is another wonderful example
of Strawinski’s amazing skill at instrumentation.
It abounds in syncopations and beautiful colorings
as one may judge from the recorded fragment
(Columbia 67694-D).
The subject of Pulcinella was taken from a
manuscript found at Naples in 1700, which con-
tained a large number of comedies. The particu-
lar episode used in the Strawinski-Pergolesi bal-
let was entitled Four Similar Pulcinellas. The
story, somewhat vague, is as follows :
All the young girls in the country are in love with Pulcin-
ella; the young fellows, pricked with jealousy, try to kill him.
At the moment when they think they have accomplished their
purpose, they borrow Pulcinella’s costume to present them-
selves to their sweethearts. But the malicious Pulcinella has
had his intimate friend take his place, and this substitute
pretends to die from the hands of the assassins. Pulcinella
himself takes the dress of a sorcerer and brings his double
to life. At the moment when the young swains think they
are relieved of him and go to visit their loved ones, the true
Pulcinella appears and arranges all the marriages. He weds
Pimpinella, blessed by his double, Fourbo, who in turn ap-
pears as the magician.
The London Times, reviewing the English
premiere at Covent Garden, remarked: “We are
not sure as to what the story actually is, and do
feel pretty sure that it does not much matter. The
ballet is primarily a means of showing us what
vitality and charm there is in music which most
of us had forgotten. Stravinski puts on the
magician’s cloak to resuscitate Pergolesi, just as
Pulcinella on the stage puts on the magician’s
cloak (we did not quite make out why) to resusci-
tate other Pulcinellas.”
403
The score calls for two flutes (second flute in-
terchangeable with piccolo), two oboes, two bas-
soons, two horns, trumpet, trombone, and solo
quintet of strings, and the usual strings — a scan-
dalously small Strawinskian orchestra ! However,
Strawinski has worked out the music very cleverly.
Most of it is re-scoring, yet the composer achieves
the utmost effect with the simplest means.
The recorded disc (conducted by the composer)
consists of the Duetto, the Minuetto and the
Finale. The Duetto, in 2/4 tempo, abounds in
syncopations as does the Finale. The Minuetto
is as beautiful as it is cleverly constructed and
orchestrated, though always of the same simplic-
ity, which is certainly the essence of good tech-
nique.
(Mr . Seltsam’s final article in the Strawinski
series will deal with Apollo.)
PHONOGRAPHIC ECHOES
Basil Cameron; Issai Dobrowen
Again the phongraph steals a march on the concert hall. The
conductors announced for the next season of the San Francisco
symphony are Basil Cameron for the first half, and Issai
Dobrowen for the remainder. Both men are making their
first conductorial appearances in this country, but both are
already known through their recordings to the alert phono-
phile.
Cameron has been conductor of the Harrowgate and Hast-
ings Municipal orchestras (England), and a guest with many
of the leading European orchestras. Brunswick issues his per-
formance of Dvorak’s fourth (“London”) symphony, an-
alyzed by Dr Vojan on page 316 of the June 1929 issue, and
reviewed on page 170 of the February 1930 issue. Dobrow-
en’s recording of Grieg’s Symphonic Dances, Op. 64, is is-
sued under the Odeon label (reviewed on page 168 of the
February 1930 issue), and one of his violin compositions is
released this month in a recording by Max Rosen for Bruns-
wick (reviewed elsewhere in this issue).
Brunswick Topics
Comments on our contemporaries in the phono-musical
field should not fail to include one of the liveliest and most
attractive of phonographic house organs, Brunswick Topics,
which has recently gone in for modem type faces with a
fine flourish. It is intended for the public as well as for the
dealer, and runs brief but diverting notes on current Bruns-
wick releases and the activities of Brunswick artists. Mr. J.
E. O’Bryon of the Brunswick publicity department has a
deft sense for material of news and human interest, giving
the Topics a blithe air that is far removed from the stodgi-
ness or amateurness of most house organs.
Celebrities and Their Favorite Records
(It was suggested some time ago by one C. Fisher of Bronx-
ville, N. Y. that it might be interesting to know the phono-
graphic likes and dislikes of some of the musical and other
great. Additions to this list will appear from time to time).
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Tibbett write from their new
Beverly Hills Home (where he is finishing the “New Moon”)
that the following records are among their favorites:
The Yvonne Printemps and Sascha Guitry Records
Strawinsky — “The Rite of Spring”
Wagner — Die Walkure
Schumann — E flat major Quintet
Beethoven — The Lenore Overture •
Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde
Franck — Symphony in D minor
Bach — Toccata and Fugue in D minor — played by Sto-
kowski
Paul Robeson’s records and —
Ravel’s Bolero by Koussevitsky
404
The Phonograph Monthly Review
*
The 1930-1931 Phono-Radio Models
T HE new lines of radios and phonograph-radio combina-
tions announced by the leading manufacturers for 1930-
1931 show an increasing interest in the attainment of
pure and pleasing tone. A device for tonal color control
is a feature of a number of the new models. Even more sig-
nificant is that growing emphasis on the combination instru-
ment. Not only the phonograph companies but practically
all of the leading radio companies now issue the duplex in-
struments — some with automatic record changing devices.
Radio men have come to realize essential kinship of their
instruments with the phonograph. The dealer finds it a pro-
fitable source of income to augment his instrument sale by
a constant sale of discs to the owners of combinations. In
larger cities the demonstration of radios is handicapped by
the excessively difficult receiving conditions and it is seldom
that the tonal qualities of the instrument can be accurately
appraised in a dealer’s showrooms. Demonstration of the
phonograph portion, however, exhibits the true tone in un-
distorted beauty.
Descriptive material on some of the new models, beginning
with those issued by the leading phonograph companies, is
given below. In some cases full information is not yet avail-
able or has not yet been released for publication. Where pos-
sible, list prices are given, but as these are subject to change,
they cannot be guaranteed as accurate. In every case the
price given does not include tubes. Prices are usually higher
west of the Rockies.
Readers who are interested in any of the various models
can obtain further information and hear a demonstration of
the instrument itself at the maker’s local dealer. It is usually
possible for responsible persons to have one installed for trial
in the home so that it may be judged under the conditions
under which it will be played.
Brunswick
A special feature of the new Brunswick instruments is the
“Uni-Selector” Dial. All operating controls are located in
the center of the control panel and consist of a switch and
volume control knob mounted concentrically inside of a
larger tuning knob. This one knob switches the set on and
off, adjusts the volume, tunes in stations, adjusts antenna
for local or distant reception, and — in the combination instru-
men t — changes the circuit from radio to record reproduction.
This single-hand control eliminates the necessity of em-
ploying two hands, eliminates sliding and noisy contacts and
resistance wires, and keeps the tubes operating always at
maximum efficiency for the best sensitivity and tone quality.
Control is effected by varying the first coupling condenser,
thus regulating the amount of energy transferred from the
first to the succeeding radio frequency amplifying tubes. The
total distance switch has a smooth positive action and does
not detune the antenna stage, thereby assuring maximum
selectivity and tone quality on either local or distant recep-
tion. A new illuminated horizontal tuning scale, calibrated
in kilocycles with a larger range of vision and with provision
for logging stations directly on the calibrated scale, makes
tuning effortless and accurate.
The wood of the cabinets is matched American walnut ven-
eer with two tone finish and artistic carvings on the front pan-
el. Fluted corner panels add to its general beauty. There are
two sizes of cabinets, a Low-boy (Model 15) somewhat similar
to the older Model S-14, but with sloping front-corner pan-
els and slightly greater depth; and a High-bov (Model 22),
somewhat similar to tb^ older Model S-21, but with French
doors and a new design of fluted corner panels.
The chassis base (Style “B”) is of unique design, a deep-
drawn steel shell, 4 and 5/8 inches in depth, rectangular in
form and measuring 11 by 15 inches. The power-transformer
cover and screen-grid tube cover are also drawn shells, which
greatly enhance the appearance and staunchness of the com-
Brunswick Model 15
plete receiver. So successfully has the shielding been com-
bined with the chassis construction that it is impossible to
impair the operation of the receiver without maliciously in-
tending to do so, and then only by resorting to drastic meas-
ure. All critical parts of the chassis are shielded and cannot
be tampered with by the uninitiated, yet the service man
has only to remove two bolts to have ready and complete
access to all parts of the chassis.
The circuit consists of three-tuned screen-grid stages of
radio frequency amplification and a linear power detector,
using the screen-grid tube, resistance coupled to two ’45
power tubes operated in parallel — a total of seven tubes, in-
cluding the rectifier tube. The circuit makes a very efficient
and economical receiver that consumes only 85 watts of
energy from the house lighting circuit, or a cost of less than
the operation of one and one-half 60-watt lights. Power unit
and tuning unit are housed in a single artistically formed
chassis, which permits a simpler and more direct wiring ar-
rangement. Only two iron core transformers are used — the
power transformer and the output transformer mounted on
the speaker — and these are made extra heavy with a big
safety factor to prevent any possibility of transformer
trouble. The fixed condensers are made in Brunswick’s own
condenser plant and are said to be fully 25% stronger than
the average. The voltage dividor resistors are of the car-
bon rod and wire-bound type, and will stand large overloads
without changing their resistance value.
‘A Brunswick-made speaker with 1 3/4 inch non-warping
voice coil and ten-inch rattleproof cone reproduces the mu-
sic with a brilliance and timbre so realistic and effortless
that the volume seems much less than it actually is.
There is a special tone control adjustment which is stan-
dard equipment on all of the new models. Through this ad-
justment, which is placed on the front panel directly below
the operating control knob, the tone can be regulated to
suit the fancy of the listener. The bass, the string section,
or any part of the ensemble can be accentuated at will
through a simple manipulation of this adjustment.
Model 42 combines an automatic Panatrope with the radio
receiver, and is the result of three years’ effort on the part
of Brunswick engineering staff to perfect a fool-proof auto-
matic device. It is capable of playing twenty standard-size
records without attention. Further details will be available
later.
September, 1930, Vol* IV, No* 12
405
Columbia Model 991
Colu nibia
“Tele-Focal” power detection is the underlying principle
of the new Columbia models, a principle that guarantees ac-
curacy, greater signal power, and establishes a uniform non-
distorting sensitivity from one end of the dial to the other,
and which enables the clear reception of distant stations on
all wave-lengths through powerful locals, and without ampli-
fying static. The “Tele-Focal” principle is particularly de-
signed for the elimination of “dead spots”, so annoying in
many areas.
The new Columbia models offer also automatic volume
control, accomplished with only one tube instead of the
usual two, eliminating the necessity of having specially select-
ed or matched tube-teams. To replace a tube, just another
good tube is needed, not one that has to be factory selected.
The radio set is an eight-tube screen-grid receiver, A.C.,
operated directly from house current, 100 to 130 volts, 60
cycles. There are four tuned circuits using three CX-324
tubes in the R. F. stages, and one CX-324 tube in the detec-
tor — “Tele-Focal” power detection. There are two stages of
Audio amplification, first stage resistance coupled using one
C-327 tube, second stage in push-pull arrangement using two
CX-345 tubes. There is an automatic volume control and
tone level, long and short antenna control switch, self-per-
petuating Mershon electrolytic condenser, phonograph pick-
up terminals, free floating seven one-half inch diameter loud-
speaker with special design fibre support at the center. Chas-
sis and speaker are scientifically matched to produce perfect
balance of tone, bass, and treble. The dial is illuminated and
calibrated in kilocycles.
In model C-20 the dimensions are 36 1/2 inches high, 28
inches wide, and 14 1/2 inches deep. The cabinet is a Low-
boy adopted from early English. There is a sweep front case
with instrument board and speaker opening framed by mold-
ed top and bottom rails, and banked on each side with mold-
ed pilasters. The center treatment of the pilasters shows
linen fold with carved quarter-foil ornaments at each end.
The cabinet is walnut finish. Price, less tubes, $145.00.
Model C-21 is a High-boy cabinet influenced by the early
Carolean period (an English period between the years 1660-
1688). There are carved pilasters leading up to the face of
the case. The lines are accentuated by a dip in the apron
and balanced by a carved frieze over the doors. The instru-
ment board and speaker opening are reached through doors,
the cabinet in open position retaining a finished and balanced
appearance. A band-sawed straining rail gives motion to the
entire case. Price, less tubes, $185.00.
The instrument shown in the accompanying cut is Model
991, an automatic phonograph and radio combination, about
which details will be available later.
Victor
Designed and constructed by a corps of radio engineers of
the Radiola Division of the RCA Victor Company, the new
Radiola Superheterodyne models have been created with im-
provements which are considered outstanding in radio set build-
ing, and which are capable of meeting all the requirements
of the recption of modem broadcasting. The selectivitity of
the new models is said to be three times that of any previous
Radiola Superheterodyne model. Through the reserve power
created by the screen grid Radiotron tubes, the listener is able
to reach out and obtain the programs of distant stations with
sharply defined and clear reception.
The new models are encased in handsome cabinets of dur-
able five-ply walnut veneer, carved with artistic decorative
motifs, fitting them for the furnishings of any period. The con-
struction has been designed to give the cabinets qualities of
sturdiness, attractiveness, and good acoustical properties.
The improved engineering features of the new models com-
prise an improved electro-dynamic loudspeaker, to which the
acoustics of the cabinet have been matched; the push-pull
amplifier, making possible ample volume for any occasion and
reduction of AC hum; the illuminated and magnified tuning
dial, accurately calibrated in kilocycles for quick precise tuning;
the volume control of new design, providing distortion-less
control with maximum clarity; the local distance switch which
in the local position permits the passage of a band of frequen-
cies sufficiently wide to receive the utmost of broadcasts and in
the distant position increases the sensitivity greatly at the same
time that the band of frequencies admitted is narrowed down
to enable clean separation of local from distant stations; and
the improved filter design.
Victor Model 86
Model 80 has a lowboy type of cabinet, 43 inches high, 27
inches wide, and 14 inches deep. Models 82 and 86 are of
the console type; the former is 48 x 27^4 xl7 inches, and the
latter 46 x 27 x 18 inches. Each model uses eight Radiotrons,
four of which are the screen-grid type, used in radio frequency,
first dectector and intermediate stages. Two UY-227’s are
employed in the oscillator and thd power (second) dectector,
and two UX-245’s are used in the push-pull power stage. There
are nine tuned circuits, four of which are variable.
In Model 82 there is the additional feature of the new tone
color control, permitting the adjustment of tone to the listeners
individual desire. Model 86, which also possesses the tone
color control, is equipped with the latest type and improved
electric phonograph, including an automatic stop, constant
speed induction disc motor, and a new “inertia” pick-up which
marks a decided improvement in the reproduction of records.
The attractions and utility of home recording have prompt-
ed the Victor company to develop a simple and inexpensive
home recording device to be incorporated in the new Victor
Radio-Electrola. A new and special type of microphone has
been perfected for this purpose. The records will have two
playing surfaces of six inches and will be inexpensive in cost.
A simple and inexpensive home recording device has long
been in demand, and the new Victor apparatus would seem
well designed to fill this need. It will be available on the
market sometime in September, and further details will be
published as soon as they are available.
COLUMBIA “new process” RECORDS
REG. U.S. PAT. OFF
All The Music of All The World
“Magic Notes'*
“Magic Notes”
SEPTEMBER RELEASE
MASTERWORKS* SERIES
SCHUMANN
Die Davidsbiindlertanze, Op. 6
By Fanny Davies
On Three Twelve-Inch Records, with Album Set No.
142.
$ 6.00
67795-D
and
67796-D
12 inch,
$2.00 Each
67793-D
and
67794-D
12 inch,
$2.00 Each
( MENDELSSOHN: Midsummer Night’s Dream: Overture
In Four Parts
By Symphony Orchestra under direction of Elie Cohen,
Chef d’Orchestre, Opera Comique, Paris
MOUSSORGSKY: A Night on the Bare Mountain (Une nuit
sur le mont chauve) In Three Parts
By Philippe Gaubert and Paris Conservatory Orchestra
WITH: BIZBT: L’Arlesienne : Adagietto
Bv Willem Mengelberg and Concertgebouw Orchestra,
of Amsterdam
2249-D
10 inch, 75c
2240-D
10 inch, 75c
50235-D
12 inch, $1.25
2238-D
10 inch, 75c
2239-D
10 inch, 75c
50237-D
12 inch, $1.25
G-50236-Df
12 inch, $1.25
G-50238-Df
12 inch, $1.25
50239-D
12 inch, $1.25
CELEBRITY RECORDS
f Andante (Cantilena) (Goltermann)
) Tre Giorni (Siciliana From Nina) (Pergolese)
[ Violoncello Solos
If Thou Wert Blind (Johnson)
Corals (Treharne)
Tenor Solos
Largo Espressivo (Pugnani)
Tempo Di Minuetto (Pugnani-Kreisler)
Violin Solos
Felix Salmond
Louis Graveure
Georges Enesco
2251-D
10 inch, 75c
5 02 40- D
12 inch, $1.25
f Scenes Alsaciennes Au cabaret (In the Tavern)
<! In Two Parts (Massenet) Instrumental
[ Symphony Orchestra under direction of Pierre Chagnon
f Scenes Alsaciennes Dimanche matin (Sunday Morning)
I In Two Parts (Massenet) Instrumental
Symphony Orchestra under direction of Pierre Chagnon
Scenes Alsaciennes Dimanche Soir (Sunday Evening):
Alsatian Air (Massenet)
Scenes Alsaciennes Dimanche Soir (Sunday Evening):
I Retraite Prancaise (Massenet) Instrumental
l Symphony Orchestra under direction of Pierre Chagnon
f Italian Serenade — In Two Parts (Hugo Wolf)
1 Instrumental Fritz Stiedry and Symphony Orchestra
flris: Dances (Mascagni)
^ Die Rantzau: Overture (Mascagni) Instrumental
( Pietro Mascagni and Symphony Orchestra
r KolJ Slavenj (How Glorious!) (Bortnjansky)
Zwei Alte Hochzeitslieder (Two Old Wedding Songs)
(Gretehaninoff ) Vocals
Don Cossack Choir, Conducted by Serge Jaroff
INSTRUMENTAL RECORDS
'Tales of Hoffmann: Barcarolle (Offenbach)
Organ Solo Terence Casey
Funeral March of a Marionette (Gounod) Organ Solo
Quentin M. Maclean at the Shepherds Bush
_ Pavilion, Compton Theatre, Organ
Queen of Sheba: March (Gounod)
Polish Dance, Op. 3, No. 1 (Scharwenka)
British Broadcasting Company’s Wireless
Military Band under direction of B. Walton O’Donnell
tThis record is offered for sale in the United States of America and
Canada only.
♦Reg. U.S. Pat. Off.
To the young dancing set . .
. . to the ones who enjoy
the best pleasure
at home— we suggest
the melodic sparkle
of dance music as
it can only be played
by..
TED LEWIS
TED LEWIS
And His Band
The charm of the past
is revived . . .
"Three O'CIock In The Morning"
Waltz (Incidental singing by Ted Lewis)
"The World Is Waiting For
The Sunrise"
Fox Trot No. 2246-D
Columbia
PM ^ Records
Viva -tonal Recording "The Records without Scratch
Columbia Phonograph. Company, New York
DANCE RECORDS
, Three O’clock in the Morning (Incidental Singing by
2246-D I Ted Lewis) Waltz
10 inch, 75o ) The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise Pox Trot
l Ted Lewis and His Band
2259-D
10 inch, 75c
2258-D
10 inch, 75c
2255-D
10 inch, 75c
\ Confessin’ (That I Love You)
[ Good Evenin’ Pox Trots
Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians
Bye Bye Blues
Under the Sun, It’s Anyone Under the Moon, It’s You
Fox Trots Bert Lown and His Hotel Biltmore Orchestra
Why Have You Forgotten Waikiki?
It’s Easy to Pall in Love
Pox Trots
Ben Selvin and His Orchestra
2254-D f Little White Lies
10 inch, 75c ) Hittin’ the Bottle (from “Earl Carroll Vanities’ )
[ Pox Trots Ted Wallace and His Campus Boys
2247-D f Betty Co-Ed
10 inch, 75c i Kitty from Kansas City
[ Pox Trots
Johnny Walker and His Rollickers
( Just a Little Closer (from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Picture
“Remote Control”) „ A
Live and Love To-Day (from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Picture
“Madam Satan’’)
Pox Trots The Columbia Photo Players
Where Can You Be? (from William Fox Picture “Cheer
The Knickerbockers
2241-D f
10 inch, 75c \ Up and Smile”_)
[ Wonder
Pox Trots
2243-D
10 inch, 75c
flf I Could Be with You (One Hour To-Night)
Shout, Sister, Shout!
[ Pox Trots Lazy Levee Loungers
2242-D ( Shore Leave
10 inch, 75c ) Port Hole Blues
Pox Trots
The Three Old Salts
VOCAL RECORDS
2248-D
10 inch, 75c
2245-D
10 inch, 75c
2257-D
10 inch, 75c
2252-D
10 inch, 75c
2253-D
10 inch, 75c
2244-D
10 inch, 75c
2250-D
10 inch, 75c
f Little White Lies x . . _. .
Nobody Cares If I’m Blue (from First National Picture
( “Bright Lights”) Lee Morse and Her Blue Grass Boys
f To-Night
\ Just Forget
Art Gillham (The Whispering Pianist)
f So Sorry . _
) How Long Is That Train Been Gone
Roy Evans
f My Pretty Quadroon
J By a Window at the End of the Lane
[ The Happy Chappies, Assisted by The Ramblers
f Here Comes the Sun
j cheer Up (Good Times Are Cornin’)
[ Male Quartets
The Rondoliers
f The Raw Recruit; Mademoiselle from Armentieres ;
[ T \\“ e e?.Uon r ™.’ £ h i. Dolph) Capt. Jenn^ mje^or; Lt.
1 Raaen, 2nd Tenor; Lt. Whitney, Baritone; Lt. O Flaherty,
l Bass.
[ Granny’s Hielan- Hame-In Two Parts gandy MacFarlane
408
The Phonograph Monthly Review
Atwater Kent
Atwater Kent Model 75
The features of the current Atwater Kent line are all de-
signed to stress the quality and character of tone, improve-
ments and refinements which make the name, the radio with
the “golden voice,” a reality. Every sound that is broadcast
comes in with infinite clarity due to the extraordinary fre-
quency range of the new circuit. The set gives an absolutely
natural reproduction of every musical instrument and every
human voice.
The new quick-vision dial is a distinct innovation in ap-
pearance and mechanism. It is a wide, stationary, illuminated
arc, above which moves a pointer when the station-selector
knob is operated. The dial is graduated in kilocycle chan-
nels so that each division represents a station. Large figures
from 60 to 150 indicate a kilocycle range from 660 to 1500
and every part of the tuning scale is plainly visible at all
times. Behind the panel a compensating mechanism operates
the pointer and automatically counteracts the tendency of
the kilocycle scale to “bunch” closely at one end. This makes
the scale uniform and permits the operator to pick out any
station as easily as he would tell time by looking at a clock.
The new tone control provides four distinct shadings, per-
mitting emphasis on bass or treble at will. This permits the
listener to strike his own balance between highs and lows
and to adjust the tone to his individual taste. Static and
other electrical disturbances may also be reduced through
this device.
The new set makes use of seven A. C. tubes and one recti-
fying tube: three screen-grid 24’s: two 27’s; two 45’s power
tubes, and an 80 rectifying tube. Other features are four con-
densers, posts for long and short antennae; dual volume con-
trol acting on both amplification and input, thus giving the
best operation at a point near or far in relation to the sta-
tion. The new circuit is specially improved for equalizing
amplification of the entire broadcasting range. The new
special detector circuit makes for far more flexible volume
and increased clarity at full volume. A long-distance switch
is included in the new set. In addition to the standard 60-
cycle, A. C. set, there will also be a 25-cycle set, a D. C.
set, and a battery set.
All four of the new cabinets are characterized by a gener-
al uniformity, designed and built to Atwater Kent specifica-
tions under the company’s supervision. The design, finish and
dimensions are such that any of them blend harmoniously
with any kind of furniture or decorative background.
Model 70 Low-boy is 38 3/4 x 24 3/4 x 15/14 inches, fin-
ished in American walnut with matched butt walnut front
panels. The speaker opening is curtained with rich, unob-
trusive duotone fabrice. List price, $119.00. Model 74 Table
30 1 /4 x 24 1 /2 J x 16 1 /2, finished with matched butt walnut
front, back, and top, and may consequently be placed any-
where in a room. List price, $125.00.
Model 70 High-boy with sliding doors is 45 3/4 x 26 x
16 1/4 inches, finished in hand-rubbed walnut with matched
butt walnut doors and front panels. List price, $145.00.
The Radio-Phonograph Combination is Model 75, and its
dimensions are 40 1/4 x 26 3/4 x 17 inches. It is finished in
hand-rubbed American walnut with matched butt walnut
doors and panels. The top is piano-hinged with an auto-
matic support. There is also an ample record compartment.
List price, $195.00 The prices given refer only to standard
60-cycle A. C. sets.
Ceneral Motors
The long-heralded General Motors radio and combination
instruments have been designed to stress the complete con-
trol of tone, rigidity of chassis construction, and beauty of
cabinet design. The “tone selector” is controlled by a small
knob beneath the tuning dial which manipulates an indicat-
ing arrow over a strip type indicator calibrated “bass” and
“Treble.” The tone shifts smoothly as the knob is manipulat-
ed. Keeping the indicator equi-distant between the two ex-
tremes brings about an equal distribution of both low and
high tones.
The entire tuning scale is constantly visible, the “strip”
type scale remaining stationary with the indicator arrow
moving across it. A range of from 550 to 1500 kilocycles is
provided.
The chassis is triple-braced, totally-shielded, and compris-
es four tuned radio frequency circuits, using three 224 type
screen-grid tubes, a power detector stage using a 227 type
tube, a first audio stage of resistance-coupled amplification
using a 227 type tube, and a last audio stage consisting of
two 245 type tubes in push-pull amplification. A 280 type
full-wave rectifying tube is used, making a total of eight
tubes.
All models are equipped with an electro-dynamic speaker
of the most modern design, mounted on a sound baffle and
matched to the set without distortion. An advance step in
radio construction is the use of ball bearings supporting the
four gang variable condenser, assuring the maintenance of
correct position of the plates as well as increasing ease of
operation.
Five models are offered, all conforming to the traditional
lines of fine period furniture. Model 120 is of Hepplewhite
design, a simple graceful low-boy, 40 x 26 x 16 inches. List
price, $136.00. Model 130 is The Sheraton, a beautifully fin-
ished high-boy (48 x 26 x 17 inches) with a serpentine front,
something new in radio cabinet design. List price, $152.00.
Model 140 is in Late Italian style, a high-boy with serpen-
tine front, 50 x 27 x 19 inches. List price, $172.00. Pick-up
jacks for attachment of phonographic reproduction apparatus
are provided in each model.
There are two combination models, in which special atten-
tion has been given to phonographic tonal qualities as well
as to radio. There is control of volume over a wide range.
A slow-speed, rubber-mounted turn-table motor and a special-
ly dampened pick-up needle reduce extraneous noises to a
minimum. The Tone Selector permits emphasis on bass or
treble at will. Model 150 is the Queeln Anne, 49 x 26 x 19
inches, with cabriole legs, and pronounced curves. List
price, $198.00. Model 160 is of Georgian period design, 50 x
28 x 18 inches, with cabriole legs decorpted with carving, and
a happy blending of curves with a tendency to massiveness.
List price, $270.00
Zenith
The new Zenith line gives a special attention to its cabin-
ets, believing that public prefers to possess an authentic re-
production rather than a haphazard or ambiguous design.
Tudor period designs are faithfully reproduced, even to the
woods and finishes. The linen fold pattern, so intimately as-
sociated with the Tudor period, is prevalent throughout the
entire line. The various grains of walnut, birch, and redgum
woods are used, permitting a variety of warm colorings and
shadings. Doors and panels of Imported Australian Maple
Butt and Italian Olive Burl add to the cabinets’ beauty.
The new Zenith “70” chassis features an advanced screen
grid circuit with linear power detection and double push-pull
audio amplification which provides greater fidelity of tone
and undistorted volume at any range. Nine tubes are used
September, 1930, VoL IV, No* 12
409
Zenith Model 75
in all, including rectification, of which three are screen-grid:
three 224’s, three 227’s, two 245’ s, and one 280. The speaker
is of the syntonic-dynamic type (12 inches).
Model 71 is a low-boy console with full-length doors of
arch design. Model 72, of unusual design, is equipped with
the Zenith automatic tuning device concealed behind an up-
per right hand door. Model 73, also automatically tuned,
presents a semi-highboy cabinet, while Model 74 is of the
same design, but equipped with an automatic remote con-
trol device which permits the operation of the set from any
part of the home.
The combination instrument, Model 75, is a striking semi-
high-boy radio-phonograph featuring an automatic record
changing device which provides thirty minutes of continuous
transcription without the necessity of manually changing each
record. Once the first record is started,, each succeeding rec-
ord automatically drops into place on the turntable, the tone
arm automatically swinging up and off at the conclusion of
each record, and down and on for each new record. The
power of the set is automatically shut off while the changing
of each record takes place. The operation of the device is so
simple that even a small child can operate it without the
slightest difficulty. List price, $375.00.
Crosley
The Crosley Arbiter Model, contains a sensitive and se-
lective screen-grid, neutrodyne, power speaker A. C. set, and
a phonograph which is concealed in the top and exposed
when the lid is lifted. Dimensions, 35 x 23 1 /2 x 14 3/4 inches.
List price, $137.00. The Amrad Sondo combination uses
four screen-grid type 24 tubes, one type 27, two type 45,
and one rectifier tube type 80. The speaker is the latest
Amrad type 249 dynamic power speaker. There is an auto-
matic volume control and two wells for records. Dimensions,
42 1/2 x '28 x 15 1/2 inches. List price, $240.00.
Westinghouse
Westinghouse Model WR-7 is fitted with an electric pick-up
of the low impedance type. The arm is new in design with
added inertia to eliminate chattering. There is an automatic
motor switch which is operated by the tone arm. Fifteen rec-
ords can be kept in the storage compartment. An induction
disc type electric motor is used. The radio set employs the
superheterodyne principle and makes use of a preselector of
two tuned circuits, a stage of screen-grid radio frequency am-
plification, screen-grid detector, two stages of screen-grid in-
termediated amplification, power detector, a push-pull am-
plifier, and a dynamic speaker — employing a special dia-
phragm with internal spider and “U”-shaped field magnet.
Fada
The Fada combination has a deluxe walnut cabinet of Ital-
ian (Renaissance period design. The radio chassis features
nine tubes (including three 224 screen-grids, three 227, two
245 push-pull, and one 280 rectifier) ; the “Flashograph,”
whereby stations are announced in lights by name perfectly
tuned as dial is turned for stations; automatic volume con-
trol; pre-selector tuning; completely shielded chassis; and
tone character control. List price, $298.00.
General Electric
The combination instrument contains nine tubes and has
a cabinet of early American period walnut. It is equipped
with dynamic speaker, tone emphasizer, and local and dis-
tance switch. Dimensions 45 x 27 1/2 x 18 inches.
Majestic
Majestic Model 233 is in Queen Anne period style, with
side doors swinging back to reveal record book compart-
ment. The top lifts on balanced supports for access to elec-
tric pick-up phonograph drive by noiseless electric motor.
The chassis includes three stages of super-screen-grid radio
frequency amplification, using type 24 tubes; screen-grid
power detection requiring one type 24 tube; output stage
is push-pull using two type 45’s; power supply is type 80.
Majestic Super-Colotura speaker. List price, $245.00.
Stromberg - Carlson
Model 14 of the new Stromberg-Oarlson line is a combina-
tion featuring an automatic record-changing mechanism,
taking from twelve to fourteen records of either ten or twelve
inch size to be played without any attention. The radio re-
ceiver uses three screen-grid tubes in the radio frequency
stages, a 227 tube in the power detector, a 227 in the first
audio stage, and two 245 tubes with push-pull. The electri-
cal phonograph portion is unique in that it allows for easy
rearrangement of selections while the records are being
played. List price, $645.00.
Philco
The Philco Concert Grand, the leader of the new Philco
line, is a combination instrument with an extra large cabinet
which occupies no more space than the ordinary receiver or
phonograph on account of its receding sides which permit
the instrument to fit into the corner of a room. There are
two record compartments. The radio receiver is a model 96
screen-grid set with nine tubes, tone control, and automatic
volume control. Two hinged doors conceal the radio con-
trols and speaker grille, while the top cover lifts up to give
access to the phonograph. List price, $350.00.
Other Lines
Detailed descriptive material on other new lines has not
yet been received, but sotne of the other lines that list
combination instruments include: Browning-Drake, Clarion,
Edison, Mohawk, Sentinel, Sparton, and U. S. Radio & Tele-
vision Corporation.
Brunswick Low Price Portable
The Brunswick Radio Corporation announces a new low
price portable, selling around $16.00, that is claimed to poss-
ess unusual tone qualities and volume for a small instrument.
It comes in a variety of colors to meet the popular taste for
colorful fittings and should be particularly popular for snorts
and vacation use.
410
The Phonograph Monthly Review
Heinrich Schlusnus — Master Singer
By RICHARDSON BROWN
I T was in 1926 that rumors from Europe began to reach the
ears of American music lovers anent a remarkable Ger-
man baritone, who though eminently successful in opera
was at the same time a lieder singer of surpassing attain-
ments and whose interpretations of the great songs were
worthy of the finest traditions of the past.
It was not until the fall of 1927 that this singer, Heinrich
Schlusnus, made his ’first New York appearance at one of the
unique Musical Forum concerts directed by Kurt Schindler.
The occasion was a Heine evening, devoted to musical set-
tings of the lyrics of this great poet. There was an introduc-
tory address by Deems Taylor, and then the evening was
given over to such an exposition of art in its truest form
that even to this day it stands out a very pinnacle among
recitals of the type.
The program as already noted consisted of Heine lyrics
set to music by Schubert, among others Der Doppelganger
and Der Atlas from Schwanengesang, the entire Dichterliebe
of Schumann, which, contrary to the expressed wish of the
singer that no applause occur until the end of the cycle,
was interrupted by insistent demands for the repetition of
Ich grolle nicht, and miscellaneous songs including Sinding’s
Ein Weib which was also repeated and Strauss’ Schlectes
Wetter. The audience literally went mad with delight and
many of the songs brought cheers. It was a refreshing in-
novation to hear a recital devoid of the truck which usually
mars such occasions and the reception goes to prove that
concession to the so-called popular taste is really unneces-
sary. Herr Schlusnus’ next New York appearance was in
the early part of 1929 and although the program itself was
strictly of lieder, encores brought superbly Italianate rendi-
tions of such arias as Zaza . piccola zingara, and one of the
\Largo al Factotum from the Barber of Seville which fo(r
sheer vocal virtuosity has yet to be equalled in this decade
at least. The severe illness of Herr Schlusnus’ son, however,
threw a pall over the entire concert and it was a great trib-
ute to his courage that he went through with it. A few ap-
pearances with the Chicago Opera company presented him in
the German repertoire rather than in the Italian which is his
specialty and as is the case of so many German singers in
this country he was unfortunately unable to create as great
an impression as was consistent with the unusual quality of
his singing.
Apropos of the second recital mentioned, it was my pleas-
ure to have with me Miss Edith Heinrich, the daughter of
Max Heinrich, one of the greatest interpreters of the lieder.
She said that not since her father died had she heard such
masterful understanding of the text and music of these songs.
The American critics vied with each other in praise — W. J.
Henderson, saying that here was a lieder singer of the first
rank, and Herman Devries, that anything more beautiful
than his singing would be difficult to find. Constant refer-
ences to this artist in the various magazines devoted 'to the
phonograph mention his art in the most enthusiastic man-
ner, and consider his voice and equipment one of the very
finest for such reproduction.
Heinrich Schlusnus was born at Braubach on the Rhine.
He gives credit for his vocal training to Louis Bachner, an
American teacher active in Berlin, also coach to the great
American soprano, Gina Pinnera. His studies began at
Frankfort, were interrupted by the war, but after a severe
wound he returned to his singing and after two years at the
Nuremberg Opera he was summoned to the Berlin Staats-
Oper by Count Huelsen-Haessler, where he became rapidly
recognized as Germany’s leading baritone. Not only are his
operatic appearances gala nights at the opera but his ap-
pearances on the continent in the more intimate recital field
have made him one of the foremost concert singers. His
repertoire not only comprises the great German songs but
also the moderns and the works of many foreign composers
in Italian, French and German, as well as English.
Any consideration of the phenomenon of a really great
lieder singer at this particularly barren time in world mu-
sic should bring with it a consideration of the art itself.
There is nothing obvious in the art of song. It is absolutely
dependent on the individual interpreter’s ability to merge
himself completely with the composer’s intention at the
time of composition. It must enter into his being as an
entity. AYhen the song is sung it must be as for the first
time, though months of careful preparation are often behind
it. A radiant recapturing, a spontaneous outpouring of emo-
tion is the vital point in song projection that so many sing-
ers entirely miss and then wonder in what their failure to
differentiate between different types and modes of songs
lies. Each song is a little drama by itself, to be considered
and worked out as such, and a similar means is at the bot-
tom of the method of anyone who really sings songs!
I will pass without further comment on Schlusnus’ career
to a discussion of a few of his Polydor recordings. I have
not attempted to analyse the songs but have tried to bring
out a few of the salient points in them as well as certain
features of the artist’s interpretations which have time and
again brought me such great pleasure as I have played over
the records.
From Schubert’s song-cycle Schwanengesang come Der
Doppelganger and Der Atlas (62643). The first, in which the
subject of the song is confronted by his baser self, is a study
in mood. This is created by the first bars from the piano
and at the end it is sustained in the same manner. The
artist expresses the doubt and anxiety of the subject and
the intensely dramatic climactic passages are superbly sung,
but at no time. overpower the sound mechanism. It will be
noted in this connection there is at no time a tendency to
blast and the exquisite resonance of the mezza-voce pas-
sages are at all times of unprecedented beauty.
Der Atlas on the opposite side is probably the finest of
the recordings cast in a dramatic mold. The song, which
expresses the agony of Atlas as he supports the sorrow-laden
world, is one of Schubert’s greatest achievements. The piano
contributes rather more than usual towards the general ef-
fect and its weight and dramatic emphasis goes a long way
towards heightening the futility of Atlas’ existence, dragging
the sorrows of a sinful world upon his shoulders for an
eternity. The singer mirrors the anguish of the unhappy
man with an overwhelming sincerity and at each reiteration
of the despairing “muss ich tragen” the hearer feels more
and more the futility which the accompaniment has estab-
lished. A changp in this mood half-way through the song
only throws the final anguished outburst more into relief.
This song, at least, should do much to disprove the academ-
icians’ feeling that the pianistic backgrounds of Schubert’s
songs were deficient. This lack, however, is very much less
obvious in songs where the melodic values are not so much
stressed. It was, however, Schumann’s much greater knowl-
edge of the piano, which he used to great advantage in his
songs that made him the second of the great song-writers.
The suspension of the voice at the end of a song and the
completion by the piano alone was Schumann’s device.
Strauss carried on Schumann’s lovable methods and planted
them forever in the heart of his own greatest song inspira-
tions.
September, 1930, Vol. IV, No. 12
411
In considering six of these, Ich liebe dich and Hcimkehr
(62364), Zueignung and Ruhe, meine Seele (62365), Die Nacht
and Das Geheimniss (62366) it would be well for the student
to carefully note the remarkable knowledge of dj'namics
possessed by the singer. Since the accompanist is in each
case the composer these records may be considered authori-
tative and the standard by which others should be judged.
Careful analysis of the music reveals the fact that every mark
of expression is carried out with the utmost fidelity, every
shade of meaning revealed in all its beauty and the range
of the dynamics perfectly adjusted in every instance. The
frank avowal of Ich liebe dich is thereby enhanced a hun-
dredfold. The hushed, yet joyful expectancy of Heimkehr
(Homeward) with its longing for the beloved one and its
climax at the end of the first half of the song, and the grad-
ual decrescendo to “rest with her alone” at the end is a
joy forever. The use of mezza-voce which might so easily
be over sentimentalized is used with greatest care, not in
any way affected.
The rendition of Zueignung hardly throws any new light
upon this most familiar of Strauss songs but the artist does
not hold the first “heilig” of the final stanza against all
comers as seems to be the good old American custom, and
the emotion of the song is held well under control, nor does
the ecstatic climax throw itself out of relation with the rest
of the song as is so often the case. On the opposite side is a
tender song of repose after strife, Ruhe, meine Seele. The
music of infinite beauty bids the spirit rest after the struggle
of “head and heart in these momentous times.” The begin-
ning and end of the song are quiet, while the middle section
is dramatic leading to a powerful climax, demonstrating to
fresh advantage the singer’s contrasting styles.
The last of the Strauss disks comprise Die Nacht and Das
Geheimniss. The first is a song of Night, as it steals away
the brightness of day and the gold of the sun, and as the
lover feels, may even snatch his beloved. The voice rises in
splendid authority to the stealing of the gold, (“weg das
gold”) and dies away in fearsome sadness at the dire pros-
pect of the loved one’s death. Das Geheimniss (The Secret)
is a love song in an entirely different mood. Especially love-
ly is the opening phrase, the lightly humorous rhetorical
question in answer to the young girl’s query and the delicate-
ly adjusted crescendo within the final piannissimo phrases
which is the affirmation, archly enough, of the question at
the beginning, that love will explain all such doubts.
It is an interesting fact to contemplate that the Strauss of
the luxuriously orchestrated Der Roaenkavalier, of the once
cacophonous Salome, of the freshly colored “‘Alpine” Sym-
phony, of the immortal Tod und Verkldrung, Till Eulenspieg-
el and Don Juan, and the empty Egyptian Helen should
have had the desire and the genius to also write these ex-
quisite songs full of the subtlest shades of emotion with
their dynamics adjusted to such miniature proportions. For
it is in these songs, with the exception of perhaps three of
the tone poems, that Strauss’ truest claim to immortality
rests. Their interpretation by a really great artist makes
this the more secure and the more realized by the generations
to come.
The fifth of the great song-writers, Hugo Wolf, wrote two
of the loveliest songs ever penned and together they make
a rarely beautiful combination on Polydor disk, (62655),
Er ist’s and the lesser known V erschwiegene Liebe. The apos-
trophe to Spring, Er Ist’s with its delicious brevity and its
extraordinary accompaniment, is sung with the exact spirit
of its composition and although it is vastly more effective
for female voice (as is Strauss’ Zueignung), it is here per-
formed with a rhapsodic crescendo that is indispensable to
this genre of song. The exacting accompaniment is brilliant-
ly played by Franz Rupp, who will be remembered as Mad-
ame Sigrid Onegin’s accompanist a season or two ago. He is
also at the piano for the other Wolf song and the two Schu*
bert songs. In passing it might be mentioned that the Poly-
dor catalogue not only lists the accompanists but also the
piano upon which he (or she) plays. This with the dates
of recording as already mentioned in these columns should
certainly become a part of the American scheme of things.
In the other W'olf song, Schlusnus’ exquisite mezza-voce is
again in evidence and the “Silent Love” of which the lyric
sings is echoed in its rendition.
I have purposely stressed the recordings that I have per-
SOME
Polydor Records
BY
HEINRICH SCHLUSNUS
Baritone
With Piano Accompaniment
10 in. Price $1.25
Sung in German
AHeimweh (Hugo Wolf)
~ ~)Heimliche (R. 'Strauss)
,,(Er Ist’s (Hugo Wolf)
l Verschwiegene Liebe (Hugo Wolf)
^ 9 ^ 7 rJWenn meine Mutter (Hugo Wolf)
ozo/o. Biterolf (Hugo Wolf)
/TW4) Zuei & nun £ ( R - Strauss)
0 ^ 00 7Ich Liebe Dich (R. Strauss)
{ Es zogen zwei rust’ge Gesellen
(Sheeshan)
Urn Rhein (Humperdinck)
Call or write for our Encyclopedia of the World’s Best
Recorded Music, containing thousands of records not
Listed in any record catalogue. Price 25c Postpaid.
Stye Gkamnjilrone Styujj
Specialists in all electrically recorded discs,
imported and domestic
18 EAST 48TH STREET
NEW YORK CITY
Telephone — Wickersham 1876
sonally at hand and have in no way aimed at making this
exhaustive. There are many other fine recordings in the
Polydor catalogue including, Wolf’s Heimweh and Strauss’
Heimliche* Auf) or derung, (62622), Strauss’ Serenade, Op. 17,
No. 1, and Wolf’s Epiphany, (66609), Brahms’ Wie Bist du
Meine Konigin, and Feldensamkeit (66610), Schubert’s Sere-
nade and To Silvia, (62645) as well as his Der Musensohn
coupled with Schumann’s Ich grolle Nicht — one of the bari-
tone’s finest achievements — (62623).
Operatic recordings cover for the most part the familiar
bariton repertoire, although an aria from Lortzing’s Zar und
Zimmerman (66608) and form the same composer’s Undine
(73086) might prove interesting and unusual. These are all
very fine but do not, I feel, have the unique interest that
the records of the lieder have. In this connection it would
be interesting to note that at the time of his Chicago ap-
pearances the Brunswick pressed several of the Polydor oper-
atic series viz., Death of Valentine from Faust and the Mig-
non Lullaby (Brunswick 27000), Wolfram’s Eulogy and the
Evening Star from Tannhauser (27002) and the Pagliacci Pro-
logue with Eri tu from The Masked Ball (50117).
It is far from my wish to send this article in a complaint
but may we not have Brunswick’s valiant services in re-press-
ing some of the more notable of the Schlusnus Polydor re-
cordings, and the making of new ones. Personally I should
suggest Schumann’s Dichterliebe, Schubert’s Schwanengesang ,
Sinding’s Ein Weib, some of the newer Strauss songs like
Kling, which are entirely unknown in this country, Schubert’s
lovely Naher des Geliebten (Why does no one ever sing it?)
and a new recording of his dazzling rendition of the Largo
from the Barber of Seville.
If my enthusiasm seems too consistent and unbounded I
defy the most conservative lover of lieder to play any of
the above mentioned records and remain untouched both by
the beauty of the voice and the art which governs it. I only
hope I have been able to bring these remarkable recordings
to a wider audience than ever before.
412
The Phonograph Monthly Review
New European Releases
Orchestral
Organ
Strauss: Salome’s Dance, Bruno Walter — Berlin Philharmonic
Josef Strauss: Sphaerenklaenge, Weingartner — Royal Phil-
harmonic
Auber: Bronze Horse overture, Godfrey — Bournemouth orch.
(English Columbia)
Siegfried’s Journey to the Rhine, Coates — London Symphony
Goldmark: Im Friihling overture, Krauss — 'Vienna Philhar-
monic
Dvorak: Carneval overture, Coates — London Symphony
Mozart: Figaro overture and Turkish March, Schmalstich, cond.
(H.M.V. — England)
Carmen Prelude; Kalman Potpourri, Weissmann — Berlin S.O.H.
Strawinsky: Firebird — Danse Infernale, Berceuse and Finale;
Dvorak: Slavonic Dance A flat, Kleiber — Berlin S.O.H.
Keler-Bela: Rakoczy overture, Sieber — Grand Symphony
Saint-Saens: Danse Macabre, Weissmann — Berlin S.O.H.
Lehar: Land of Laughter Selection, Dobrint cond. (Parlophone)
Meistersinger overture, Piern6 — Concerts Colonne
Massenet: Les Errynes, Cond. Cloez (French Odeon)
Gaubert: Chants de la Mer, Gaubert — Paris Conservatory orch.
(French Columbia)
Debussy: Petite Suite, Coppola — Symphony Orch.
Luisa Miller and La Favorita overtures, Sabajno — La Scala
Orch.
Iphigenie in Aulis overture, Blech — Berlin S.O.H.
Goldmark: Rustic Wedding symphony, Heger — Vienna Phil-
harmonic (European H.M.V.)
Lalo: Roi d’Ys overture: Aida Grand March, Ruhlmann, cond.
(Path§-Art — France)
Concertos
Beethoven: Fourth Piano Concerto, Bachaus with the London
Symphony under Ronald (H.M.V.)
Faure: Ballade, Marguerite Long with the Paris Conservatory
Orch. under Gaubert (French Columbia)
Ope
Bach: Prelude in E minor (Book III, No. 10) and Chorale —
Reveille-toi, Eduard Com.mette (French Columbia)
Carillon
Denyn: Prelude and Flegier: Madrigal, Jef Denyn (Malines
Carillon (H.M.V.)
Recitation
Jean Cocteau: La Voix Humaine, Bertha Bovy (Fr. H.M.V.)
Songs and Arias
ras
Barber of Seville, complete, cond. by Molajoli (with Stracciari,
Capsir, Borgioli, etc.) (French Columbia)
La Boheme, abridged version (Polydor)
H.M.S. Pinafore, D’Oyly Carte Company, cond. Sargent
(H.M.V.)
Chamber Music
Beethoven: ’Cello Sonata in A, Op. 69, Casals and Otto Schul-
hoff
Debussy: Sonata for violin and piano, Thibaud and Cortot
(European H.M.V.)
Piano
Bach: Preludes and Fugues Nos. 10-17 (Book I), Evlyn
Howard-Jones (English Columbia)
Bartok: Suite, Op. 14, Nos 1-4, Bela Bartok
Schumann: Etudes Symphoniques, Cortot
Beethoven: Sonatas Op. 26, and Op. 31, No. 2, Frederic Lamond
Debussy : En blanc et noir (4 hands) Ruff and Jeanes
Debussy: Masques and Bazare-Levy: Preludes, Lazare-Levy
Debussy: Danse de Puck and Bruy£res, Wurmser
Mompou: Cancio i Danca Nos. 1 and 2, Frederico Mompou
(European H.M.V.)
Granados: 5th Spanish Dance and Albeniz: Sous le Palmier,
Janine Weill (Decca)
Holbrooke: Wasps and Roumanian, Josef Holbrooke (Picca-
dilly)
Debussy: Mazurka and La plus que lente, M-F Gaillard (French
Odeon)
Souvenirs de Bayreuth (4 hands) Herbrecht & Petit jean
(French H.M.V.)
Violin
Burleigh: Southland Sketches and Smetana: Songs of My
Home, Margaret Harrison (H.M.V.)
Sarasate: Romance Andalouse and Zarsycki: Mazurka, Huber-
mnnn (French Odeon)
Vivaldi: Largo from Concerto D min.; and Clerambault: Alle-
gro in G, Andra Asselin (French H.M.V.)
'Cello
Bach: Andante (arr. Siloti) and Aria (Suite in D), Casals
(H.M.V.)
Harpsichord
Scarlatti: Tocc&tina and Mozart: Pastorale vari6e, Regina
Patorni-Casadesus (French Columbia)
Vaughn-Williams: Linden Lea, and Sally in our Alley, Henry
Wendon
Walkuere — Wotan’s Farewell, Horace Stevens (Decca)
Mozart: Warnung and Wiegenlied, and Mahler: Wer hat das
Liedlein erdacht, Elisabeth Schumann
Don Giovanni and M. Beaucaire arias, Alice Moxon — Stuart
Robertson
Ireland: Spring Sorrow and Trottin’ to the Fair, Stuart Robert-
son
Sea Shanties, John Goss (H.M.V.)
Eulenburg: Rosenlieder, Bettendorf and Clemens
Mignon — Polonaise and Lucia — Mad Scene, Margherita Carosio
Faust — Sword Scene and Aria, Act I, Rouard; Villabella
Mihaly: Thou art my star, and Egen: Mary, Richard Tauber
.(Parlophone)
O’Hara: My Country and There is no death, Clara Butt (Eng-
lish Columbia)
Nin: Malaguena and Polo, Ninon Vallin (French Odeon)
Debussy: Le Promenoir des deux amants, Panzera
Fledermaus arias, Lotte Schoene
Faust duet, Act I, Ansseau and Journet (French H.M.V.)
Wagner: Schmerzen and Traeume, Elisabeth Ohms
Franck: Nocturne and Mater Dolorosa (Beatitudes), Germaine
Martinelli (Polydor)
MShul: Joseph — Vainement Pharaon . . . , George Thill
De Falla: Jota, and Leormand Leila, Dolores De Silvera
(French Columbia)
Special San Francisco Victor Release
The Victor Company has made a special release of some
twenty records pertinent to San Francisco’s annual opera
season held during the month of September, enabling opera
goers to study fresh recordings of their favorite arias and
orchestral excerpts, and of the voices of some of the sea-
son’s principal artists. The special release includes the com-
plete Pagliacci album, reviewed in this issue; the Tannhauser
Overture and Venusberg Music, reviewed last month (the
San Francisco production is to present the Paris version) ;
Salome’s Dance, reviewed in this issue (in connection with
Jeritza’s first American appearance in the role of Salome,
September 12) ; the Serenata and drinking song from Don
Giovanni, sung by Pinza; Brunnhilde’s Battle Cry and the
Appeal to Wotan, sung by Jeritza; duets from Act I of
Faust — Ansseau and Journet; Faust Kermesse Scene, Waltz,
and chorus — Metropolitan Opera House Chorus and Orches-
tra; final scene of Salome — Ljunberg with the Berlin State
Opera Orchestra under Blech; and duets from Traviata by
Galli-Curci and Schipa. Several of the vocal recordings have
not yet been given general release, but may be expected!
shortly.
Max Von Schillings
The third American tour of the German Grand Opera
Company next season will be made with Dr. Max von
Schillings as principal conductor. The company’s repertory
will include the entire “Ring,” Tannhauser, Tristan and Is-
olde, Flying Dutchman, Mozart’s Don Juan, and a novelty
to be announced later. Schillings’ splendid recordings with
the Berlin State Opera Orchestra, released under the Odeon
and Columbia labels in this country, have already won him
a widespread public, and no music lover who knows and ad-
mires his versions of the “Eroica,” and many Wagnerian ex-
cerpts will miss the opportunity of hearing him in person.
September, 1930, Vol. IV, No. 12
413
Correspondence
The Editor does not accept any responsibility jor opinions
expressed by correspondents. No notice will be taken oj un-
signed letters, but only initials or a pseudonym will be printed
if the writer so desires. Contributions oj general interest
to our readers are welcomed. They should be brief and writ-
ten on one side oj the paper only. Address all letters, to
CORRESPONDENCE COLUMN, Editorial Department,
The Phonograph Monthly Review, 5 Boylston Street, Cam-
bridge, Massachusetts.
The P. NT R, m the Prague Museum
Editor, Phonograph Monthly Review:
Permit me to extend to you and to the Publishers of The
Phonograph Monthly Review my sincere thanks for your
kind donation of the July and August copies of the Review,
containing Dr. J. E. S. Voj art’s articles on composer Smetana
and his recorded works, to the National Museum in Praha
(Prague), Czechoslovakia.
For over three years I have been collecting material relat-
ing in one way or another to Czechoslovakia, its people, hab-
its, folklore, etc., for this museum. I am sure that when your
magazines arrive at the museum, they will be duly appre-
ciated and welcomed by Dr. Joseph Volf, director of the Mu-
seum Library.
American citizens of Czechoslovak (Bohemian) birth and
origin sincerely appreciate, indeed, the great service which
your magazine is doing to their nationals, not only by show-
ing to their other American fellow citizens that they are de-
scendants of one of the finest music loving nations of Europe,
but also by calling to the attention of the public the phono-
graphic records of great Czechoslovak composers like Bed-
rich Smetana, Antonin Dvorak, and many others. I am
glad that I may say that several newspapers published in
the United States in the Czech and Slovak languages regis-
tered with gratitude the fact that you published these articles.
Cicero, Illinois J. V. Welcl
Mr. Gerstle Comments
Editor, Phonograph Monthly Review:
First of all, let me congratulate you on the remarkable im-
provement of your magazine in the past few month, not only
in its dress, but in its general tone. I have only one criticism
to make, ajid that is, that in listing new foreign recordings,
it would be much easier to read if they were given in the
form of a table.
There have been requests in your columns in recent months
for the works of Sibelius, Bloch, Loeffier, Bax, Holst, Delius
and Vaughan-Williams. Things are looking up ! A couple of
years ago the requests were for works by certain celebrated
contemporaries of “synthetic” reputation, merely because
their names were propagandized by the “interests” (yes,
there are “interests” in the music business).
I noticed two slips that mar your otherwise excellent Aug-
ust issue. Maybe it was the heat, but I played the Proko-
fiev Overture through four times and failed to find any
trace of the obnoxious trumpets and piccolo which your re-
viewer found fault with. I am quite certain that this work
was recorded in its original form, namely, for string quartet,
clarinet and piano. Another reviewer wrote about the Coat
Song from “La Boheme,” which happened to be the Pro-
logue from “Mefistofele” wrongly labeled.
New York City Henry S. Gerstle
H ome Talkies
Editor, Phonograph Monthly Review:
With reference to the current discussion of mechanical mu-
sic and the development of new instruments — advocated by
Dr. Stokowski and many other musical pioneers, it is in-
teresting to note that a new method of film recording has
just been perfected by George K. Spoor, once of the fam-
ous Essanay Company. Mr. Spoor’s system, which is called
“Intersound,” records the sound waves upon the margin of
the film rather than on its face. The advantages are length-
ened film wear, the possibility of using larger screens, greater
ease of making copies of the film, and lessened costs. First
announcements (which of course are always highly enthus-
iastic) estimate that with the new process it will be possible
to manufacture home sound-film projection instruments for
around thirty dollars.
Meanwhile there is already an ingenious machine on the
market that projects a succession of “still” pictures to the
accompaniment of synchronized records.
M. I. T. scientists are reported to have invented a rival
to the Theremin, which ultilizes beams of light and a photo-
electric cell to produce synthetic sounds which can imitate
existing tone qualities and produce many more entirely new
ones. It is played with a keyboard.
The vast field of research into acoustics and electro-tech-
nics has barely been begun. The next few years will un-
doubtedly see revolutionary productions in the way of new
instruments and new tonal qualities. Mechanical music
seems to have dealt many of the old instruments a severe iff
not fatal blow, but the nature of music is such that some
new types of instruments will be devised to take the place
of the old. Personal music making can never be killed. It
is the duty of the phonograph, radio, and such new instru-
ments as may be perfected to stimulate the desire to create
music for oneself rather than to accept an entirely passive
role as listener.
New Haven, Conn. “Modernist^
Smetana
Editor, Phonograph Monthly Review:
First of all I want to tell you how very interesting your
magazine is this month, even as it is every time it comes
out. The new print is a great improvement and makes the
articles much easier to read. Especially notable were those
of Harry Potamkin, William Seltsam and Nicolas Slomimsky,
the last named who is one of the best informed musicians in
the United States, as well as being a gifted composer and a
delightful entertainer. Any one who has heard him do his duet
with oranges and his advertising songs can testify to that.
His connection with Serge Koussevitsky as his musical secre-
tary also gave him a rare insight into modern music and its
leading figures. He should be called upon often to submit
articles which should be of universal interest.
I note with interest the Smetana Discography by Dr. Vo-
jan. I did not have The Phonograph Monthly Review in
1927 so I have no way of knowing if the records which I shall
mention below were noted. Unfortunately I have not at
hand the numbers the records themselves bear.
Bartered Bride — Es muss, gelingen, Duet sung by Destinn
and Morak; also by Rethberg and Tauber, Weiss ich doch
eine, sung by Bohnen and (?).
This last named is as I remember it the priceless moment
when Bohnen in his deliciously Hibernian make-up as the
marriage broker propounds the idea of marriage to the heart-
sick suitor. I remember well a performance of this charm-
ing opera at the Metropolitan, which by the way is one of
the most felicitous productions in Mr. Gatti’s over-stocked
repertory. The principals of the occasion were Mesdames
Mueller, Hunter and Page and Messrs. Bohnen, Meader and
Laubenthal. Herr Bohnen as the aforementioned Kezal car-
ried a large watch with an alarm in it which seemed to al-
ways ring at the inopportune time. After the duet with
Hans the applause continued so long that he proceeded to
the footlights, timed the demonstration and stage-whispered
“Drei minuten” to Herr Bodanzky and the orchestra who
shook with the proverbial mirth. Further mention should
be made of the fine genre study that George Meader makes
of Wenzel the half-wit, bowlegged bumkin that Kezal tries
to sell to the delightful Marie. His entrance with umbrella
and bun, eating and at the same time singing the exacting
music, his by-play, his collapsive love-making and his bear-
impersonation make the entire study a tour de force. Ma-
dame Mueller made a winsome figure as Marie but her sing-
ing did not efface memories of Emmy Destinn, Smetana’s
country-woman who was the Marie of the first New York
production, February 17, 1911.
414
Smetana was well-named the Bohemian Mozart. The opera
is a well-spring of the most sparkling music, running at times
like champagne, at others like country lager. True the mu-
sic often seems wasted on the farcical situations, but the
composer always lets you hear the melodies again and again
so you don’t feel the disappointment that you otherwise
would. The plot is secondary and whenever about to in-
trude there is usually a brilliant folk-dance to take its place.
In the last act there is a circus (and what a circus !). with a
bear, the sight of which always caused Herr Bohnen to hide
on the top of the nearest dwelling. In the original produc-
tion in this country Alma Gluck impersonated the soubrette,
Esmeralda. Can anyone who heard 'her forget her beauty,
her impeccable musical style and the fascination of her per-
sonality as well as her rare voice? Louise Hunter sang this
at the latter Metropolitan performances' before she went
Hammerstein.
It is now temporarily out of the repertoire m New York
but Chicagoans will hear it this summer with Rethberg to
sing Marie and Ruth Page to dance the Furiant in ideal
Ravinia surroundings (it is the open-air opera par excellence)
and this winter at the Civic Opera with Maria. RadjJ in the
name-part.
Allerton, Mass. B. R.
Reply to a Musical Miniver Cheevy
Editor, Phonograph Monthly Review:
Yes, D. L., writing in the August Review, mechanical music
indeed! As for the “old time instruments,” where are the
instruments of the past: the ^spinet, the, clavichord, the harp-
sichord, and the numerous stringed tools of music? Today
they satisfy musical sentimentalism, nostalgic snobbery, the
penchant for the quaint, antiquarianism, the vicarious. Arn-
old Dolmetsch and Wanda Landowska have not re-estab-
lished organically the medievalism and eighteenth-century-
ism of the limited instruments. The piano was born to sat-
isfy the scope of a new age, of a Bach. Instruments were
created to realize the inventions, concepts, of Wagner. And
as for home made music, that sentimentality has nothing
to do with the question of music by artists for audiences.
Submitting a defense of home made music (home made
cooking?) is a plaintive note in a society whose most valid
idea and organization — the family — the home — is disintegrat-
ing. I did not urge in my article, any particular mechanical
instrument upon the reader. It was a descriptive article
mainly. But homesickness is no contradiction of a tendency.
“ Miniver Cheevy’s” yearning for iron clothing was no answer
to the burning question : What shall the modern Apollo
New York City Harry Allen Potamkin
A Note from R* H* S* P*
Editor, Phonograph Monthly Review:
Since completing my article on the recordings of the Missa
Papae Marcelli of Palestrina (June issue), I have had the
opportunity to hear the “Sanctus” as sung by the Staats-und
Domchor, directed by Prof. Hugo Rudel (Victor, German list,
9250, D12, $1. 50). I can only say that in every way it sur-
passes my highest hopes. As I hazarded before having
heard it, the singing strikes exactly the proper medium be-
tween the excessively concert style of the Roman Polyphon-
ic Society and the lack of clarity and weight of the West-
minster Cathedral Choir. The ton£ here is brilliant and the
attacks vigorous, and clean-cut. As for the recording, I
should not have believed such perfect and truly realistic
reproduction of a cappella singing possible, — every part and
run, accentuated to the correct degree in the performance,
stands out with clarity as it issued from the phonograph.
Even their excellent Lassus disc would not have led one to
expect this. It is most unfortunate that the whole mass was
not done at the same time as the “Sanctus,” but everyone
must hope that at some time we may still have it from them,
—as well as many others of the unrecorded polyphonic choral
masterpieces.
May I be permitted to make a correction in one sentence
of my review of the Beethoven Septet in the July issue (page
353, bottom of column one). I do so only because as there
printed it is rather meaningless. The sentence beginning
“Yet it is here, perhaps . . .” should read as follows: Yet
it is here, perhaps, that the contrast with Mozart is most
The Phonograph Monthly Review
marked; whereas the Rondo of his Quintet imparts the in-
definable elation arising from a perfectly proportioned beauty,
this possesses merely a pleasantly animated form and move-
ment, which leaves it far outside the company of the great-
est music.”
Bethel, Connecticut Robert H. S. Phillips
Phono Cranks
Editor, Phonograph Monthly Review:
Despite the mysterious “Observer’s” blasts against phono-
cranks^-all those who are touched by more than a trace of
fanaticism in their phonographic interests, it is apparent that
the tribe is as unabashed as ever in its own singular and
oftentimes highly fantastic activities. And how amazingly
voluble they are about it!
Like many another reader of the P.M.R., I find the corres-
pondence columns one of the most enjoyable features of
the magazine. The lofty communications of British readers
to their journals are vastly higher in tone, but certainly not
one-tenth as amusing or genuinely interesting. To tell the
truth, I have rather missed the American phono-cranks’ hot-
headed espistles from recent issues of the P. M. ,R., yet when
I find them back in full force in your August number, I am
roused to mingled wrath, laughter, and serious rebuttal argu-
ments. I suppose your policy is to give them a chance to
be heard every so often (I remember the months of their
hey-day several years ago, when the historical fanatics were
given full opportunity for expression, when the controversy
between Mr. Aleman and a Montreal gentleman — I forget
the initials — who dared to dispute the Cuban’s authority’s
dogmatic pronouncements, was taking the place of the wan-
ing excitements over poor S. K. and his struggles with Straw-
inski.) Unquestionably they would over-run the magazine
unless they were rigorously subdued, but they make for fun
and helpful controversy when they are given fair opportuni-
ty to advance their particular prejudices and views.
And they seem to be glimpsing the light in some respects.
It is encouraging to find Mr. Dancy (one of the piano-disc
cognoscenti, I believe) actually admitting that new record-
ings are interesting, and that he buys a far larger proportion
of them than of his highly-touted historical discs dug up in
Salvation Army depots and somewhat shady second hand
shops. Alas, I fail to see what charm such establishments
and their ancient wares boast. The fact that Herr Doktor
Wcychzi once made an acoustical recording of his own Etude
in F flat holds no interest for me no matter how famous the
Herr Dtoktor may be or how much I admire his Etude. The
recording in those days was not adequate to give a fair idea
of either his music or his performance. This inaccuracy and
unfaithfulness of early recordings are what have handi-
capped the phonograph so severely in the eyes of the best
musicians. The new process, with its vastly fairer and truth-
ful reproduction, permitted for the first time discs to be
made that would not utterly betray both letter and spirit of
the original performance.
The old time record “enthusiasts” seem utterly unable to
grasp the fact that were it not for the new recording and the
new type of record buyers (music lovers rather than disc
collectors), the phonograph today would be as dead as the
stereoscope.
Similarly, if the celebrity recorded repertory were con-
fined today as it once was to operatic works, the phono,-
graphy movement would be inconceivable. In variably one
finds that those interests lie wholly in the operatic field de-
vote their attention far more to personalities, traditions, styles,
and the like, far more than to the significance of the music
and the musicianship of the performances. The rise of sym-
phonic and chamber music to its proper sphere — on records
as well as in concert — bespeaks a tremendous advance and
opens up the only possible avenue of future development.
The devotees of opera worship at a dead shrine, a beautiful
one in many instances, but one from which the vitality has
long since fled.
But I am waxing as voluble as the very writers against
whom my blast is directed! A certain amount of controversal
excitement seems inevitably associated with discussion of mu-
sic and particularly recorded music. However, it is a good
sign. Without controversy interest would flag. The im-
portant point is to discover whether debate and discussion
are constructive or idle.
Buffalo, New York D. H. D.
Columbia
MASTER WORKS*
New Issues
CHOPIN
Concerto No* 2 , in F Minor, Op* 21
for Piano and Orchestra
/ This early work of Chopin expresses some of the great Pole’s most eloquent and
I / poetical thoughts. In every movement we follow his inspiration down winding
by-roads to come upon unforgettable musical figures of new and ravishing beauty.
The performance too is an inspiration, an unforced and authentic interpretation
B by a soloist of European fame, supported by the famous orchestra of the Paris
Conservatory.
COLUMBIA MASTERWORKS SET NO. 143
Chopin: Concerto No. 2, in F Minor, Op. 21, for Piano and Orchestra
By Marguerite Long, with Orchestra of the Paris Conservatory, conducted
by Philippe Gaubert
In Seven Parts, $8.00 with album
SCHUMANN
Die Davidsbundlertanze, Op* 6, for Piano
Schumann was but little behind Chopin in discovering and revealing new beauties
in the piano key board. These charming pieces, spontaneous outpourings of his
romantic youthful period, form a milestone in the development of his genius as
a creative musician. Fanny Davies, richly endowed favorite pupil of Clara
Schumann, has given a superb recording.
COLUMBIA MASTERWORKS SET NO. 142
Schumann: Die Davidsbundlertanze, Op. 6, for Piano
By Fanny Davies
Three 12Tnch Records, $6.00 with album
WEBER
Euryanthe: Overture
This splendid overture, by one of the undisputed masters of music, is considered
to be, in places, prophetic of Wagner at his best. Its sincere and lofty passages
are brilliantly read by one of Germany’s most eminent conductors.
COLUMBIA RECORD NO. 67804'D
Weber: Euryanthe: Overture — Parts 1 and 2
By Dr. Max von Schillings and Symphony Orchestra
COLUMBIA RECORD NO. 67805T)
Weber: Euryanthe: Overture — Part 3
Abu Hassan : Overture
By Dr. Max von Schillings and Symphony Orchestra
Columbia Records
"Magic Notes” Viva -tonal Recording "The Records without Scratch "Magic Notes”
Columbia Phonograph Co., New York City
•Reg. U.S. Pat. Office
ow... en|oy
The Isle of the Dead
7 , ft
recorded by the composer himself '{
conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra
PAGLIACCI
performed by members of Lo Scala
I N SPITE of its title, Rachmaninoff’s tone poem,
The Isle of the Dead, though at times very stirring,
is on the whole soothing and restful.
You remember the famous Bocklin painting which
inspired it — the tall cliffs and the cypress trees —
the barge slowly nearing its goal... It is this scene
that sets the mood for this very descriptive music,
hut the musical interpretation may very well arouse
quite different images in your mind.
The composition begins gently, suggesting perhaps
the ripple of the water around the barge of the dead.
There is an impression of intense stillness. Then you
may get a picture of a bleak, shadowy land. The
Dies Irae is hinted at on the second record and again
at the end of the third. It is played distinctly by the
’cellos in record four and toward the end of the work
...You may hear the lamentations of the living for
the dead. The sea laps against the rocks, the wind I
roars... hut the chances are that you will be left with!
the feeling that the dead are resigned to their lot.
It’s a reverent and superbly lyric composition, and
you will understand why it has been played by nearly
every important symphony organization during re-
cent years.
The variety and expertness of Rachmaninoff’s con-
ducting of the great Philadelphia Orchestra will im-
press you. He does his job with great clarity, delicacy
and distinction.
The Isle of the Dead requires five record sides... the
sixth is taken up with Rachmaninoff’s orchestration
of one of his vocal studies, a Vocalise, through which
runs a lovely, poignant melody of the kind for which
this composer is famed. j
Italian Atmosphere Par Excellence
It s a safe bet that the new Victor release of the com-
plete opera of Pagliacci will be enthusiastically wel-
comed. Leoncavallo’s masterpiece embodies most
that is typical in the Italian opera form; and nobody
could interpret it for us better than the guardians of
the Italian tradition — the great artists, orchestra
and chorus from La Scala Opera House in Milan.
It is impossible to praise the voices from this famous
operatic shrine too highly. It is indeed an “all-star”
cast.
Carlo Sabajno, one of the greatest of European di-
rectors, is in charge of the whole performance. He
does a masterly album. The whole recording has a
swing and gusto about it that will delight you. The
misfortunes of the tragic clown give the singers an
opportunity perhaps no other opera could give...
Here’s musical melodrama at its peak, as Sabajno
realizes. The passions are delineated in bold strokes.
Musicianship is excellent throughout.
Hear the familiar Prologue, the Bell Chorus, Vesti
la Giubba... and you will agree that here is an im-
portant achievement in recording... and that your
library should have it.
Again Victor demonstrates its leadership in bring-
ing to you the best in music performed by the best
artists. .. Enjoy these... and the many other great
Victor releases... at your Victor dealer’s.
Some Recent Victor Releases
THE ISLE OF THE DEAD
—Symphonic Poem. (Rachmaninoff). Recorded by
Sergei Rachmaninoff conducting the Philadelphia
Orchestra. M-75 (Victor Records 7219-7221)
Straight Arrangement. AM-75 (Victor Records 7222-
7224) Automatic Arrangement. List Price $6.50.
PAGLIACCI (Leoncavallo).
La Scala Opera Company, conducted by Carlo
Sabajno. M- 76 (Victor Records 9655-9663) Straight
Arrangement. AM-76 (Victor Records 9664-9672)
Automatic Arrangement. List Price $13.50.
TANNHAUSER
— Overture and Venusberg Music — Paris version
(Wagner), Recorded by Leopold Stokowski and the
Philadelphia Orchestra. M-78 (Victor Records 7262-
7264) Straight Arrangement. AM-78 (Victor Re-
cords 7265-7267) Automatic Arrangement. List
Price $6.50.
SONATA IN A MAJOR.
Cesar Franck, Recorded by Alfred Cortot and
Jacques Thibaud. M-81 (Victor Records 8175-8178)
Straight Arrangement. AM-81 (Victor Records 8179-
8182) Automatic Arrangement. List Price $10.00.
PIANO CONCERTO IN B FLAT MAJOR.
Op. 83. Johan nes , Brahms, Recorded by Arthur
Rubinstein and The London Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Albert Coates. M-80 (Victor Records
7237-7241) Straight Arrangement. AM-80 (Victor
Records 7242-7246) Automatic Arrangement. List
Price $10.00.
"Victor Division
R C AVictor Companj, Inc.
CAMDEN, N.J..U.S.A.
The Music Magazine of the
Pacific West
Published Monthly in San Francisco
Covering the Ten Western States
from Canada to Mexico
The biggest Western Circulation of any
Music Magazine
FREDERIC SHIPMAN, Publisher
Hotel Sutter San Francisco
are you interested in
FRENCH RECORDS?
then read :
MACHINES PARLANTES
~ I A RADIO I
which contains each month complete lists
of the French recordings and interesting
articles on Phonograph 6? Radio.
Annual subscription $1 ' Demand for free specimen
to 15 rue de Madrid, Paris (France)
Every Number is a Record Number
®J|£ (grant ttplmitt'
Edited by
(Jlnntptmt Mackenzie
Annual Subscription $3.50 — post free
Send for a free specimen copy
THE GRAMOPHONE
58 Frith Street : : London, W1
The British Musician
“The British Musician' 5 (established January,
1926, and able to incorporate the ancient
“Musical News” in February 1929) is pub-
lished monthly from
53 Barclay Road
Warley Woods - Birmingham, Eng.
at the rate of 12 cents a copy (15 cents post
free) or 1 dollar 80 cents per annum post free).
You may have a Specimen Copy for 15 cents.
"P H O N O - A R T E"
THE BRASILIAN MAGAZINE
or
MUSIC and PHONOGRAPH
Yearly Foreign Subscription $2.50
Edited by:
SergiQ Alencar Vasconcellos
AND
J. Cruz Cordeiro Filho
Avenida Rio Branco, 112-4° andar
RIO DE JANEIRO BRAZIL
FONOS
The organ of the
Argentine Fono Club
7 ^
Your knowledge of contemporary music is
incomplete unless you are a reader of
THE CHESTERIAN
“Infinite riches in a little room”
is the apt quotation from Christopher Mar-
lowe used by a subscriber to express his
opinion of the magazine.
To the modern musician THE CHESTER-
IAN does indeed represent “infinite riches”
by reason of its unique features. Every
issue is a veritable mine of interesting in-
formation.
Eight numbers are published each year
and will be forwarded, as issued, for the
nominal subscription of FIVE SHILLINGS.
A specimen number will be sent, post free,
on application.
Editorial Committee:
Leopoldo Hurtado, Manuel Bettroy, Manuel
Ortiz de Guinea
Yearly Foreign Subscription $4.00
Viamonte 550 — 3er Piso
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINE REPUBLIC
J. & W. CHESTER, Ltd.
II Great Marlborough Street
London W. I.
England
K J
September, 1930, Vol. IV, No. 12
419
Paul Tremaine
Exclusive Columbia Artist
Although Paul Tremaine and his orchestra are compara-
tive youngsters in the recording field, with no more than
three releases they have demonstrated their right to a prem-
ier place in the dance record world by virtue of an origin-
ality and spontaneity of touch that is very new and refresh-
ing among the rapidly formalizing types of dance music.
Tremaine’s rise has been rapid, and from his first theatrical
engagement in Kansas City in 1926, he has come up through
the vaudeville circuits to his present position as one of the
major chain broadcasting attractions of the country.
For his material Tremaine has turned to the vast field of
folk and hill billy tunes of the South, recorded in their
crudest form by the multitude of backwoods fiddlers and
guitarists for the Southern series of the various .recording
companies. The essential qualities of these tunes t often lost
or barely discernible in the ordinary recorded performance
impressed Tremaine as having very considerable musical
significance which might be developed without losing any-
thing of the rude and characteristic flavor of the originals.
His orchestra — a seventeen piece band — is made up' of
Westerners who have these old-time tunes in their blood,
and who in addition to their instrumental skill (the seventeen
can double on forty-five instruments) can turn in first-rate
chorussing. The name of the soloist is not given on* the
labels, but his work — particularly in Rockin’ Chair and When
the Day’s Work’s All Been Done — marks him as one of the
best in the dance band world. The words of the old ballads
come out cleanly and intelligibly, sauced by authentic south-
western accent, and colored by the resonance of a good voice,
handled with individuality and distinction. The playing and
singing of the whole group, no less than that of the soloist,
is marked by the unspoiled enthusiasm and spontaneity that
characterize Tremaine’s own arrangements and that immed-
iately lift one of these performances out of the ruck of av-
erage jazz recordings. When Tremaine leaves his special field,
his orchestra remains obviously a good one, but as illustrated
in their record of Anchors Aweigh, the stimulating flavor of
their old-time tunes is lost, and the music no better than that
purveyed by the ordinary better class dance band.
To hear Tremaine at his best is to hear his recordings of
Steamboat Bill, Hand Me Down My Walking Cane, and
She’ll Be Coming round the Mountain, Rockin’ Chair, and
When' the Day’s Work’s All Been Done This Fall. The mater-
ial is that of the famous old-time ballads, heroes of the Mis-
sissippi and the old railroads, and the unsophisticated but ter-
ribly sincere expression of the backcountryman looking for-
ward to the end of laboring in the cotton fields. Rude and
humorous*- as. .many hill billy songs seem to the sophisticate,
they are very real and poignant to their authors. If there were
anything supercilious in Tremaine’s performances their false-
ness would be unmistakable, but he finds their exact note of
genuine feeling’ and the. effect is powerful and convincing.
IRufus
Analytical Notes-
The Chopin Concertos
Chopin: Concerto in E 'minor, Op. 11, played by Alex-
ander Brailovsky with the Philharmonic Orchestra, Ber-
lin, conducted by Julius Pruewer. Polydor 66753-6 (4 D-
12s). Available through the American importers.
Chopin: Concerto in F minor, Op. 21, played by Mar-
guerite Long, with the Paris Conservatory Orchestra, con-
ducted by Philippe Gaubert. Columbia Masterworks Set
No. 143 (4 D12s, Alb., $8.00).
Chopin’s “First Grand Concerto for Piano with Orchestral
Accompaniment” has always been a greater favorite with
the public and the virtuosos than the Second. Now both
Concertos are recorded and placed within reach of the mu-
sic lover. Reversing the numerical order, we will speak of
the Second Concerto first, not only out of severe personal
preference for this somewhat neglected masterpiece of ro-
mantic music, but also out of admiration for the superb
performance of Marguerite Long, the soloist of the recording.
It is the business of the experts to speak learnedly of the
merits of the “new method” employed by the Columbia, but
whatever it be, the audible results are extraordinary both in
wealth of tonal color and in rendition of details. Particu-
larly the recording of the piano reaches perfect adequacy of
transmission. The registers are even throughout: no rumb-
ling basses disturb the arm-chair listener. Not a nuance is
lost, — which is saying a great deal, for M-lle Long is an
artist exquisitely sensitive to dynamic shadings, and she
dwells lovingly on Chopin’s leggieros and legierissimos. Chop-
-Longer Reviews
in did not .leave phonographic records of his playing, but
tradition has it that his interpretation was fanciful and free
within the strict measure of musical prosody. In this sense
Marguerite Long’s playing is superlatively Chopinesque.
Under her fingers the F minor Concerto becomes a work of
delicate fancy. Her filigree passages flow with supreme ease,
and the sensitive recording preserves a perfect clarity. The
second movement — a Largo, which Liszt characterized as
music of astonishing grandeur, — retains in M-lle Long’s ver-
sion all the noble simplicity of Chopin in his exalted moods.
The last movement is offered in an excellent lively style.
The orchestra gives out the sudden modulation into the ho-
monymic major key (F), followed by the famous -horn call
a remarkable invention) ; after a short suspense, the 'pianis-
tic coda, played by Marguerite Long with all her admirable,
finish, concludes the Concerto. As a- sort of phonographic
encore, M-lle Long records the . Mazurka in F sharp minor
(op. 59) on the remaining eighth side of the album. Through-
out the Concerto, the accompanying orchestra, under the di-
rection of Philippe Gaubert follows the soloist faithfully, and
the balance is well-nigh perfect.
The Polydor recording of the E minor Concerto is some^
thing of an antithesis. Alexander Brailovsky’s coarse-
grained version has nothing of the delicate air which charac-
terizes M-lle Long’s performance. Mr. Brailovsky possesses-
an undoubted force of personality, but he imposes this per-
sonality upon us to the detriment of the greater personality
of the composer. He has power and genuine feeling of the
music, but he cares little about the infinitesimal distinctions
which are the very essence of Chopin’s art. Moreover, he
chooses to improve upon Chopin in emphasizing his basses
420
The Phonograph Monthly Review
(usually by transposing them an octave lower), filling in har-
monies, and even sharping a non-chromatic grace note (a
tell-tale solecism!). Unfortunately, such practices are free-
ly indulged in by great players, which should not stop us,
however, from rebuking them most energetically, Brailov-
sky’s technique, while powerful, is never accurate, and the
tail-ends of many a passage cannot enjoy even the benefit
of the doubt. In his slurring over details he reduces Chopin’s
scale of dynamic shadings to a rather appalling mezzo-forte,
mitigated by occasional grasping fortissimo above it, and
somewhat fulsome mezzo-piano below. Unquestionably, he
gets a sweeping effect now and then, but the tornadoes of his
musical temperament too often bury the frail structures of
Chopin’s imagination underneath the debris.
The Philharmonic Orchestra of Berlin is justly celebrated
for its qualities, but on this record the ensemble leaves some-
thing very specific to be desired. Yet, Mr. Brailovsky’s play-
ing is not so erratic as to exclude all possibility of correct en-
semble. Somebody, either the player or the recording engin-
eer, must be held responsible for the banging basses in the
.development section of the first movement.
A word of warning to all phonophiles; some foreign com-
panies use different recording velocities. Since correct pitch
can be attained only through correct rotating speed, it is es-
sential that we should adjust the speed-regulator before
playing a record. While the Columbia recording speed is
uniformly 78, the Polydor Company uses 80 revolutions a
minute in this Chopin set, and the difference of two revolu-
tions from the American accepted standard (78) makes a
difference of nearty a semitone. Assuming that the standard
pitch (A with 440 vibrations a second) is accepted by all
phonograph companies, and in view of the fact that we can
get the artist’s intended tempo only through correct pitch
(the pitch being the constant, and the tempo a variant), we
must not treat the discrepancy lightly, even if we are not
cursed with a sense of absolute pitch; and we have to rely
for it on our own efficiency in screwing up the speed-regu-
lator (which for some unknown reasons has superseded on
most modern machines, the intelligent speed-indicator of
yore), — at least until such time as the various companies
will mark the key-number on their records, or until some
electrical wizard finds a way to divorce speed from pitch.
Nicolas Slonimsky
Salome
Richard Strauss: Salome’s Dance , from the opera Salome
(3 parts), and Henry Eichheim: Japanese Nocturne (1
part), played by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by
Leopold Stokowski. Victor 7259-60 (2 D12s, $2.00 each).
In his beautifully written play, Salome , Oscar Wilde says
of his heroine, “Her little white hands are like white but-
terflies. . . . She is like a dove that has strayed. . . . She is
like a narcissus trembling in the wind. . . . She is like a sil-
ver flower.” Richard Strauss composed the music of his
opera around this play of Wilde’s. It had its premiere at
Dresden, December 9, 1905; it was produced in Paris with
beautiful Olive Fremstad in the title role. All went well
until it was produced in New York. Here, our Anglo-Saxon
prudes, knowing nothing whatever about art, made trouble-
some moths out of Wilde’s butterflies, crows of his doves and
cabbages of his silver flowers.
In the final analysis, is it not the story that is so “offen-
sively effective” (as some critics put it) in arousing the vir-
tuous instincts of our reformers? If so, we might ask why
it is that Wilde’s play is still highly respected and performed
while Strauss’ opera (a mere addition of music) is stifled. We
might rightfully ask if this story is any more repulsive than
Shakespeare’s Macbeth with its cruel murder of Duncan by
the hero. We might further ask why our reformers strive
to abolish this opera yet themselves flock to Oberammergau
to view the tragic crucifixion of the Nazarene. Wilde him-
self said that all life was the material with which the writer
worked and the only question which could be asked was
whether the work of art was well written or poorly written.
Wilde’s Salome was well and beautifully written.
The story of the opera need not be given here, since every-
one is familiar with it. Nor do we need to tell of the sup-
pression of the opera at the Metropolitan (with Fremstad)
during the season of 1906-07. Later, Oscar Hammerstein re-
vamped and produced it (January 28, 1909) in French with
Mary Garden in the title role. Naturally, Miss Garden’s con-
ception of the role was far from that of a shrinking violet.
The harmonic audacity of Strauss (for that period at least)
was more than many critics and musicians could stand. He
gave little consideration to the singers, in fact he has ex-
plained that he did not intend to. The singers are really no
more than actors who intone instead of speaking. However,
Strauss has given a most uncanny representation in his score
of every word, gesture or look which is said or done on the
stage, to do which calls for a modest orchestra of 112!
The best music of the opera is undoubtedly the “Dance
of the Seven Veils,” of which Stokowski, in the acoustical
days, made a two-part version for Victor (6240). While ii
was fine recording by the old standards, still it was slightly
cut, the most unforgiveable cut being the omission of the
entire! introduction.
In the present version the electrical system brings out the
elaborate instrumentation strikingly. One questions the ne-
cessity however, of extending it to three record sides. The
first two sides (to within one inch of the end of part 2) are
dragged somewhat^ badly. The last inch of part 2 and all of
part 3 gain steadily in momentum and constitute probably
the best recorded reading we have of those parts. The re-
cording, as in practically all of Stokowski’s discs, is clear-
cut in spite of the occasional demands for great volume.
The music for the dance itself constitutes a most difficult
problem for the dancer since it changes time in the slow
movement very often. The rhythm is difficult to follow be-
cause Strauss’ orchestration is heavy at times and has a
tendency to sound blurred.
The scene is a moonlit terrace in the palace of Herod. At
one side is a gigantic staircade; at the back, an old cistern
in which Jokanaan is held captive. Herodias does not wish
Salome to dance, but Herod insists. In the play there is
only the stage direction, “Salome dances the dance of the
seven veils,” but in the music-drama the composer gives
more specific directions. “The musicians begin a wild dance.
. . . Salome motionless as yet. . . .Now Salome bestirs her-
self and gives the musicians a signal, whereupon the wild
rhythm subsides forthwith and merges into a gently rocking
movement.” The chief theme is begun by flute and solo
viola; the second in the strings, English horn, horn, clarinet
and Heckelphone. The languorous first theme returns. “Sal-
ome appears to grow weary for a moment . . . now she
rouses herself to renewed whirling.” The scene ends with a
flourish of wood-winds and strings. “Salome lingers for a
moment in a visionary pause by the cistern and then throws
herself at Herod’s feet!”
We have waited a long time for an electrical recording of
this composition although both the Polydor (the composer
conducting) and the Electrola (Klemperer’s) versions have
been on sale in this country for some time. The Stokowdki
version, although highly satisfying, can hardly be expected
to better Klemperer’s fine all-around version.
For the fourth side, Victor made an appropriate and wise
choice in selecting Henry Eichheim’s Japanese Nocturne.
Eichheim is an American composer. He was born in Chica-
go and studied at the Chicago Musical College, winning first
prize for violin playing. He has been a member of both
Theodore Thomas’ and Boston Symphony Orchestras and
conductor of the Winchester (Mass.) Symphony Orchestra.
He has journeyed to the East where he got inspiration for
his many Oriental compositions. His ballet The Rivals,
based on an old Chinese legend, has been danced in New
York by Adolph Bolm and Ruth Page under the auspices
of the League of Composers.
The five Oriental studies from which Japanese Nocturne
is taken were played for the first time at Pittsfield, October
1, 1921. The Nocturne is “based on motives heard at night
in Ikao, Matsushima, Yokohama, and Tokio, played by
blind masseurs, with the shrill piping of food-venders, the
playing of a koto and the chanting of the prayer by an old
man beating a small wooden bell.” The scoring is for pic-
colo, two flutes, two oboes, ancient cymbals, fish-head (a
wooden drum to accompany prayers), twenty violins, six
violas, six violoncellos and six doubles basses (two tuned
down to E-flat).
The record is highly enjoyable and takes a place between
the popular conception of Japanese music and the non-un-
derstandable authentic type. Probably the most unique sec-
tion is the end of the record, which is evidently Eichheim’s
musical representation of the chanting of a prayer accom-
panied on the fish-head. The recording is exceptionally good.
We congratulate the Victor Company for their sponsoring
another composition by an American composer, a practice
that we hope they will continue. William H. Seltsam
September, 1930, Vol. IV, No. 12
421
Todteninsel
Rachmaninov: The Isle of the Dead (5 parts), and Vocal-
ise (1 part), played by the Philadelphia Orchestra, con-
ducted by Sergei Rachmaninov. Victor Masterpiece Set
M-75 (3 D12s, ‘Alb., $6.50).
Rachmaninov conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra in his
own compositions ! It makes a good head-line not only for
phonograph fans, for Rachmaninov is the only living repre-
sentative of the school of great composers, who are also
great pianists and great conductors. Or rather not a school,
but a tradition exemplified in the last century by Liszt and
Rubinstein. True, neither Rubinstein, nor Rachmaninov are
admitted among great composers, without serious reserva-
tions. The popularity of their works with the public at
large has cast some doubt on their greatness, but there is a
decided tendency in the post-modern musical world to in-
corporate great melodic geniuses as moving spirits of the art
of music. Such masterpieces as Rachmaninov’s Second
Piano Concerto obviously belong to immortality. The Isle
of the Dead, in this sensational recording, is another work of
Rachmaninov which presents the stern aspect of an endur-
ing work of art. It belongs to a stage of musical evolution-
ary history, which has passed, never to return: that of pic-
turization of music, or musification of pictures. Rachmaninov’s
Tone-Poem translated into music the well-known paint-
ing of Boecklin, whose many versions are hung in the Mun-
ich Pinacothecas. Rachmaninov’s work is written in the un-
symmetrical rhythm of 5/8, developing magnificently to a
powerful climax. The impressive crash (most dramatically
prepared by the conducting composer) constitutes the turn-
ing point of the work. Then the theme of Dies Irae, the
leit-motive of many an eschatological symphonic poem from
Berlioz on, is announced and vigorously developed. The
5/8 meter returns and leads us to the symbolic trans-Styxian
shores. There is no need of commending the familiar quali-
ties of the Philadelphia Orchestra, or the rich homogeneity
of Victor’s orchestral recording. Rachmaninov’s leadership
gives us an authentic interpretation, full of dramatic power
and introspective reticence, so characteristic of his style. We
are naturally curious to know something about the cuts and
changes in orchestration which are introduced in this version.
Is Rachmaninov yielding to the spirit of the times, in cut-
ting down his preludial waves, or eliminating passages, mu-
sically inessential, but perhaps, necessary as sort of sub-
duedly sonorous rests? We wonder.
The Isle of the Dead occupies five sides of the album.
Thanks to this circumstance, we are given an “encore:” the
orchestral version of Rachmininov’s famous “Vocalise.”
Nicolas Slonimsky
Arnold Bax
Bax: Tintagel (3 parts and Mediterranean (1 part), played
by the New Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Eugene*
Goossens. H. M. V. C-l 619-20. (Available through the Ameri-
can Importers.)
Contrary to the brief opinion of Arnold Bax expressed by
Cecil Gray in his extremely interesting and illuminating book
“A Survey of Contemporary Music,” we believe that Bax
is one of the greatest contemporary tonal creators. Gray,
who penetrates with amazing acumen the fallacies of modem
French composers, seems to have floundered hopelessly in
his attempt to describe his own countrymen’s works — par-
ticularly Arnold Bax. He tells us, “He is possessed of im-
mense facility, and has the technique of all the schools, an-
cient and modern, at his finger-ends. He is consequently
prone to write too quickly, and too much, without mature
deliberation, with the result that in all his large output there
is hardly a single work which is a satisfactory whole; at the
same time there is hardly one which does not reveal the
presence of a finely sensitive and richly gifted personality.
He has potentially every quality, including the rarest of all,
genuine creative imagination. If one must conclude by
saying that his work is generally disappointing, it is never-
theless an implied compliment of the highest order; one is
disappointed because one expects so much.” All of which,
being largely paradoxical, leaves us with the impression
that Mr. Gray has dismissed this musical genius too briefly.
If, granting it to be true which we doubt, Bax writes too
quickly, this in itself is a virtue, for spontaneity is worth
all the studied effects in existence. When Gray admits that
Bax has potentially every quality, essential to a composer,
“including the rarest of them all, genuine creative imagina-
tion,” he has admitted him as one of the unique class of
Delius and Sibelius, whom the English critic Ernest New-
man has aptly called “intellectual solitaries.” We believe
that, like the latter, Bax composes purely to satisfy his own
creative urge and not critical or public opinion.
The few of Bax’s works, which have come to us on rec-
ords, are — we are certain — to the sensitive mind verily prec-
ious experiences; persistently remembered through all the
hours of music that our gramophone gives to us. The “Oboe
Quintet,” which the National Gramophonic Society issued a
few years back, lives and repeats itself with a certain per-
suasive assurance which almost defies analysis like the poetry
of Synge and Yeats, with whom Bax’s music seems to be
consanguineously mated.
Tintagel, although a work of definite inspiration, is not
one of Bax’s great works. We hope for a recording of his
First Symphony wherein we believe his genius has soared to
newer and greater heights than any so far attained by any
English composer. Tintagel is virtually a tone-poem al-
though as Mr. Anderson in reviewing it in The Gramophone
pointed out, the brief composer’s note tells us “it is only in
the broadest sense programme music. Its intension is simply
to offer a tonal impression of the castle-crowned cliff of
Tintagel, and more especially of the long distances of the
Atlantic as seen from the cliffs of Cornwall on a sunny but
not windless summer day. The literary and traditional as-
sociations of the scene also enter into the scheme,” and Mr.
Anderson adds — “those of Tristan, presumably, in particu-
lar.”
The music of Tintagel, like all of Bax’s, is impregnant
with out-of-door impressionism — for he is essentially a
composer who gathers his greatest inspirations from the uni-
verse of Nature. The broad lies of the horizon, the misty
mirage of a color-subdued skyline, the whispering grasses at
the water’s edge, the star-studded expanse of silent sea
or the moon-drenched mystery of a lonely moor — are moods
which we can imagine stirring his imagination to expressions
of “intimate evocations” that are preeminently po'etical.
Tintagel, as Mr. Anderson says, “is one of the finest sug-
gestions of old scenes and of Nature’s sway we have.” The
imposing grandeur of the castfe is suggested in the music,
the Cornwall cliffs and the rocky shoreline, the sun-tracked
sea, stirred by the wind, flowing inward. It is all an imagina-
tive picture — merely suggested — which needs no mapping
out, like a Straussian tone-poem, to truly enjoy. There are
moments, reminiscent of “Tristan,” which might incite mis-
leading criticism of a Wagnerian influence ; but, if this be true,
we believe they are the results of a complimentary influence,
such as a good pupil inevitably displays, rather than of a plaga-
ristic intent. Bax could hardly “have the technique of all
the schools,” if he did not know his “Wagner;” and fur-
thermore, he would not be a great composer if he did not
show some Wagnerian influence, for we believe that Wag-
ner brought a definite tonal coloring into existence which has
influenced all composers since in some manner or other.
Contrary to the English reviews that found “much was due
to Goossens’ insight and sympathy,” we believe that much
has been missed by Goossens in his reading of this score.
Goossens, who is unquestionably an essentially fine and ex-
tremely sensitive musician, is inclined to be rhythmically un-
even (he has a tendency to permit our interest to lag at
times), lacking in consistant vitality, and anti-climactic; nor
has he essentially a good orchestra. There are many mo-
ments in Mr. Goossens’ reading of Tintagel in which we feel
he failed to keep the composer’s thought a living one. A
fine reading in recording should be, to our way of thinking,
a veritable recreation of a given work. Very few recordings
are however in truth “veritable recreations,” although vir-
tually every recording is a recreation. And so — once again —
we are confronted with the type of a paradox, which we be-
lieve proves conclusively that words are ineffectual in de-
scribing music.
Mediterranean, which was originally written for the piano,
was scored for a special concert of Bax’s music given by his
publishers in 1922. It is more adolescent in thought than Tin-
tagel. At the same time, it is a work, which although poeti-
cally small in thought, is none the less a fine one ; for as Mr.
Anderson wrote in reviewing it, “it is not like the conven-
tional ‘sunny-South* poster-music. ...”
Peter Hugh Reed
422
Pagliacci
Leoncavallo: Pagliacci, by soloists, chorus, and orchestra
of La Scala, Milan. Victor Musical Masterpiece Set M-76
(9 D 12s, Alb., $13.50) .
The Cast
NEDDA Adelaide Saraceni
CANIO Allesandro Valente
TONIO Apollo Granforte
PEPPE u Nello Palai
SILVIO Leonildo Basi
Chorus and Orchestra oj La Scala, Milan
Conductor , Carlo Saba j no
Another strong link in the chain of complete operas under
the direction of this conductor, who accomplished success-
fully the revivication of this music which constant repetition
has begun to wear thin.
Leoncavallo had written an ambitious trilogy of operas
which he had presented to the Brothers Ricordi. They ac-
cepted them for immediate production but nothing more was
heard from the project. In despair the composer took the
scores to the rival publishers, Eduardo Sonzogno, who en-
couraged him to write the opera Pagliacci. He composed
it in five months* using a plot taken from a case in real life
tried before his father, a magistrate, at the tribunal of Coz-
enza on August 15, 1865. The opera was produced with
overwhelming success at the Teatra Dal Verme, Milan, May
21, 1892, and later all over Europe.
Catulle Mendes had, however, written a “tragi-parade,”
La Femme du T'abarin, with a similar plot, which had been
produced in Paris in 1887. When the opera was first given
in Brussels, Mendes attempted to enjoin the performance
but Leoncavallo remarked drily that after all it was one of
the commonest plots in existence, and later cited the above
case as proof. One Passard has also written an opera. Tabarin,
with a similar situation, but at the end a reconciliation takes
place.
After the first succes of the opera, Leoncavallo was accused
of imitating the styles of Gluck, Ponchielli, Wagner, Verdi,
Gounod, Massenet aind even Balfe. One writer mentions that
the opening measures of the Andantino in A is a deliberate
steal from the Madrigal in Delibes suite, Le Roi Malgre Lui.
Mascagni was charged with writing an anonymous pamph-
let in which he accuses Leoncavallo of plagiarism. Fame
and the pot and the kettle!
The word pagliacci itself has an interesting derivation.
These wandering performers first visited France with the
troupes of 1570. (cf. Paillasse, Fr.) Originally clothed in
white with big buttons they later wore costumes of blue and
white checked bed-tick which was then used as covering for
straw mattresses. The work pagliaccio originally meant
straw, hence the name which is applied to these strolling
players, which should not be restricted in meaning to clowns,
but to their other talents as singers, actors and pantomi-
mists.
The first performance in America took place at the Grand
Opera House, New York by the Heinrichs Opera Company
Melba was one of the first sopranos to sing Nedda’s music in
Europe and frequently sang the Ballatella in concert. Caruso
was undoubtedly the greatest of Canios, but Zenatello should
not be forgotten. Maurel originated Tonio, but was quickly
followed by Campanari and others. Scotti was cynical; Bak-
lanoff, the originator of the business with the apple, and
Amato a sentimentalist in the role. Famous Neddas include
Geraldine Farrar, Fritzi Scheff, and in later years Maggie
T'evte and Lucrezia Bori.
The current performance is in 18 sides, the series number
of which is given in each case. The references are in each
case to the Schirmer 1906 score.
Record 1. — Si puo (9655)
The first part of the prologue is a miniature overture and
the three themes that are associated with the drama to fol-
low are heard for the first time. The first, used later in the
Arioso, is sung here by horns alone. The second, cantabile
sostenuto, represents the guilty love of Nedda and Silvio
and the third, vivace come prima, is used constantly in as-
sociation with the players. This side ends just before the
beginning of the reminiscent Un nido which is
Record 2. The baritone, Granforte has a fine voice which
he uses expressively. The customary liberties are taken with
end of the aria but not as obtrusively as usual. Both the
The Phonograph Monthly Review
orchestral part and the accompaniment are very well done.
Record 3. Son qua, (9656). This colorful chorus is bril-
liantly sung and the atmosphere of the entire work is at
once created. Valente, the Canio’s voice is ineffective in
the lower register but the moment it mounts into the true
tenor range it improves immediately and is impressive
throughout the opera.
Record 4 is LTn tai gioco, which he sings with fire and
readily delineates the character of the jealous and adoring
Canio, foreshadowing the tragedy to come. The villagers,
hearing the sound of bagpipes begin
Record 5 (9697), which is the Bell Chorus, one of the
most beautiful passages in the opera and equally well sung
here. The orchestra occasionally overpowers the voices but
it is probably the fault of the reproducing mechanism as the
balance between the two is so carefully maintained through-
out.
Record 6 is the Ballatella. From her first notes in the
fourth record, Adelaide Saraceni creates the picture of Ned-
da, the wanton baggage, whose loves are as light as her head.
The singer’s voice becomes slightly strident in fortissimo up-
per passages but even then it has a dramatic quality which
makes her impersonation constantly effective.
This displayful music, proceded by the recitative in which
Nedda remembers Canio’s manner in record 4, is sung with
much verve although the accompaniment is taken at too
leisurely a pace.
Record 7. Sei la, (9658). The duet between the amorous
Tonio and the disdainful Nedda, in which she mornfully re-
jects his proposals of love and earns his undying hatred.
Close on the heels of the hunchback comes the villager Sil-
vio who in
Record 8. Nedda! Silvio! A quest’ora — makes Nedda more
dissatisfied with her lot than ever. Basi gives an excellent
version of this ungrateful role. Dramatically it is one of
opera’s weakest parts but the duet contains some of the
loveliest music in the opera which is well taken care of here.
The cut indicated in the score leads directly into
Record 9. Non piu non m’ami, (9659). Silvio’s success-
ful attempt to break down Nedda’s resistance. Tonio plays
the eavesdropper and runs to summon Canio.
Record 10. Cammina adagio. Tonia hears Nedda promise
to meet Silvio later that night and tries in vain to catch
him. There is a tensely drawn scene between Nedda and
Canio and Tonio and Beppe urge him to go on with the play.
His heart-broken sobs culminate in
Record 11. Vesti la giubba, (9660), which is here given a
masterly performance. It is not oversentimentalized and
forms a climax worthy of what has preceded it.
Record 12 is the intermezzo usually played before the
second act. The final strain of the prologue is re-stated here
con amore.
Record 13. Presto affre tiamoci begins the second act,
(9661). It is the impatient chorus sung as the villagers await
the rise of the curtain. Even without the stage action it
is easy to picture the commotion of the throng.
Record 14. Pagliacco, mio marito, begins the action of the
playlet. The tripping minuet movement which runs through-
out the act is heard for the first time. Harlequin’s serenade
sung by Palai with fine effect intrigues the fickle Columbine.
Record 15. E dessa, (9662), continues with the exaggerated
comedy of Tonio as he comments on her character. This
scene is a striking contrast to the scene which follows at the
entrance of Canio as he hears Nedda repeat the same words
of assignation that she said earlier in the day to Silvio.
Record 16. Arlecchin! Columbina!, is the scene just be-
fore this as the lovers in their mock rapture eat supper. Tad-
deo enters and announces the arrival of Canio.
Record 17. No, Pagliacco, non son, is the enraged Canio’s
indictment of his wife and is followed by her terrified at-
tempt to continue with the play which begins
Record 18. Suvvia, cosi terrible. Canio demands the name
of her lover. Defiantly she refuses as triumphantly above
her voice soars the love motive. Canio stabs her. she calls
for Silvio and Canio kills him. The comedy is ended! The
mounting intensity of this scene is superbly brought out in
the records.
Leoncavallo intended the final words to be snoken bj^ Tonio.
Maurel did so at the first performance. At the first Boston
performance Tonio said them as Canio crossed himself. Cus-
tom, however, gives them now to Canio. It would be inter-
esting to know what caused the change.
September, 1930, Vol. IV, No. 12
423
As fine as the individual interpretations are, Sabajno, the
conductor, holds the entire interpretation together. Owing
to recording difficulties, no doubt, the orchestra at time over-
powers the chorus and at others the singers themselves seem
to be singing over-loudly. But the conductor never fails to
create the “go,” the fiery realism that is the very soul of
the verismo school of opera. It would be interesting com-
parison between the old Leoncavallo version made in the
acoustical days and the present one. That was the day be-
fore they laid much stress on who conducted the music, at
least as far as telling the public was concerned and great
publicity was given the fact that the set was under the com-
poser’s direction. It was said at the time that any question
arising in the future concerning the composer’s intention re-
garding the opera could be decided by reference to that per-
formance. I have the feeling that he would be surprised and
delighted with the new one. Certainly it is one which every
lover of the opera will want to own. R- B.
Der Davidsbund
Schuman: Davidsbiindlertdnze, Op. 6, played by Fanny
Davies. Columbia Masterworks Set No. 142 (3 D12s, Alb.,
$ 6 . 00 ).
Schumann, when he was twenty-seven years old, wrote
this series of charakterstiicke, which he entitled Davidsbund-
ler Dances. The conception and significance of this title is
in a way an example of the mood of the Romantic Move-
ment in one of its most typical manifestations, for the Dav-
idsbiind, or band of Davidites, was made up of a group of
real and imaginary characters conceived in Schumann’s mind,
and to whom he ascribes the authorship of the dances. This
kind of fanciful extravagance was entirely in keeping with
Schumann’s love of mystery and play. The principle char-
acters of this ethereal group were Florestan, Eusebius, and
Master Raro. Florestan was the man of verve and enthus-
iasm, Eusebius was the poet, as the moods of those dances
to which their initials were added, indicate. Other charac-
ters in this band were less imaginary, for the composer Steph-
en Heller is represented, as the contributor “mit humor.”
Clara Schumann also appears. Once, when discussing these
dances, Schumann has Florestan say: “Assembled Davids-
bundler, that is to say, youths and men who are to kill the
Philistines, musical and otherwise, especially the tallest. . . .
“On this authority, one might venture the guess that Schu-
mann has taken the story of David as a symbol of the
struggle between the Romantic composers and the tradition-
bound Philistines of Classicism. (See also the march against
the Philistines that forms the finale of the Carnaval suite.)
This series contains all of the dances but nos. 3, 7, 15, and
16. It is fitting that Fanny Davies, the English pianist,
should play them, for she was a pupil of Clara Schumann
(and Reinecke), and has been a Schumann specialist through-
out her career. She has recorded the concerto and the Kind-
erscenen besides, for Columbia ; the latter set has not yet been
given American release. The story of her appearances, which
began at the prodigy-age of six, reads like the wish-fulfillment
dream of a pianist. She has appeared in all the large cities
of the European continent and has played with their or-
chestras. Besides being a pianist of note, Miss Davies lec-
tures and writes on music, and has been President of the
Society of Women Musicians. Her performance is essen-
tially in the spirit. One feels that it is “correct.” There are
two musical connotations to this word “correct” — the one con-
demns, the other praises, but it is needless to say that Miss
Davies’ correctness is a most worthy virtue. Her interpre-
tation is not excitingly brilliant — but if it were, we should
have Miss Davies in the fore, and not Schumann. The per-
formance is at all times romantic, and she makes the most
of Schumann’s varied syncopations. The recording is very
good. E. Y. G.
The next issue will contain feature reviews of Car-
men in the abridged opera, series (Brunswick), Brahms’
Requiem (Electrola), the Tchaikowsky Violin Concerto
with Elman (H. M. V.), a Bach sonata for violin solo
by Menuhin (H. M. V.), an album of Elizabethan
madrigals by the St. George’s Singers (English Colum-
bia), Columbia’s Marchenera records and Turina’s
Danzas Fantastical, Euryanthe overture conducted by
Max von Schillings (Columbia), etc., etc.
ORCHESTRAL
Mendelssohn: Midsumer Night’s Dream — Overfire played
by a Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Elie»
Cohen, Chef D’Orchestra, Opera Comique, Paris. Columbia
67795-6-D (2 D 12s, $2.00 each).
W!ealth was no drawback to Mendelssohn’s genius. The
penalty in his case seems to be that his music already begun
to fade. It takes a greater conductor and orchestra than
this to make it “sound” as it should. The present perform-
ance is one of varying merit. The opening horn calls are
well done, but the fairy music itself lacks the gossamer
lightness it requires. The songful middle section seems a
trifle over-loud, the tone losing quality thereby. On the
whole the version’s competent but not sufficiently brilliant
to throw new light on the work. Hearing it again recalls
the remarkable Reinhardt version of the play and the skill-
ful method in which this music was used.
This exquisite overture was written when the composer
was but fifteen years of age and had already written a piano-
forte quartet. His entire career was in fact diametrically
opposed to that of most composers. In the first place his
family was rich. Originally Jews, they turned Christian and
the gifted young composer was an important figure socially,
not only because of his family but because of his charm and
rare talents. He was an organist, pianist and conductor and
at 18 organized a chorus to sing the Passion according to
Saint Matthew. His first appearance in London made him
the idol of England and his career became largely identified
with his success there. It was not until he was thirty how-
ever that he wrote the incidental music to a Midsummer
Night’s Dream and the difference in style between this and
his earlier works is interesting to compare.
Debussy (orch. Busser) : Petite Suite : 1. — En Bateau, 2. —
Cortege , 3. — Menuet, 4. — Ballet played by Albert Wolff and
the Orchestra de L’Association Lamoureux, Paris. Bruns-
wick 90066-7 (2 D 12s, $1.50 each)
Re-pressings of recent Poly dor releases, numbers 566011
and 566012.
This is the first fully adequate recording of this charming
suite. The version used is the orchestration by Henri Paul
Busser, who first met Debussy when he was chorus-master of
the first performance of Pelleas et Melisande. The orchestra-
tion was made under Debussy’s own direction. The suite
was originally published for piano a quatre mains in 1889, —
one authority says by Durand, another by Fromont.
Busser himself was a composer of varied works, including
a Pastorale in one act, Daphnis et Chloe, a symphonic poem,
Hercule au Jardin des Hesperides, and a Suite Funambu-
lesque as well as various instrumental works of lesser im-
portance. His chief claim to fame, however, lies in his adap-
tion of these piano works.
Although the suite is in the composer’s earlier style and
as such can neither be considered typical or important, it is
at the same time a work of charm and much rhythmic vitali-
ty, and the present performance — carried out with the ut-
most elan by Albert Wolff and the Lamoureaux Orchestra—
brings out these qualities to a rare degree. As a concert
performance is now a rarity, this is a unique opportunity to
hear music of Debussy’s earlier period which was to ripen
into La Demoiselle Elue and later into the Apres-Midi d’un
Faune and the epoch-making Pelleas et Melisande.
Mascagni: Iris — Dances and I Rantzau — Overture, played
by a Symphony Orchestra conducted by the Composer.
Columbia G-50238-D (D12, $1.25).
The dances from Iris take place in the first ret as a part
of the puppet-show arranged by Kyoto, the procurer, to
fascinate Iris. Three Geishas impersonate Beauty, Death,
and the Vampire. The characters are designated by masks
and form the climax to the little drama which has preceded
it. The opera itself has never been an enduring success, al-
though with its charming settings, fanciful philosophy and
Italianate music, the reason is hard to find. It marks Mas-
cagni’s later style and perhaps the very qualities which make
it so different* form too great a contrast to anything else
the composer has written. Certainly a more exquisite per-
formance than that given last year by the Chicago company
424
The Phonograph Monthly Review
is difficult to imagine. Madame Mason did some of her best
considered singing and the scenic production was lavish. The
choral passages of the familiar Hymn to the Sun were pro-
jected through the sides of the proscenium with great effect
and the other characters were well taken. The role was a
favorite of Emma Dames, and Madame Bori will sing it next
year in the Metropolitan revival. (An acoustical version of
“ In pure stille” by this soprano has long since vanished from
the catalogue.)
The music, however, marks a definite advance over L’Ami-
co Fritz and I Rantzau, the overture to which forms the other
side of the present recording. The failure of the first-named
did not warn the composer that Erkman-Chatrian was not
the writer t q inspire his librettists to their best efforts. Pro-
duced for the first time at the Pergola Theatre in Florence, No-
vember 10, 1892, I Rantzau had scarcely any of the charm of
its predecessor and irritating mannerisms were again in full
display. The overture, itself, if badly orchestrated, and the
continual and meaningless shifts of key and time-signature
do not contribute dramatic effectiveness.
Contrary to precedent the composer gives in these records
excellent and persuasive renditions of his own music, mini-
mizing in fact the futility of much of the music.
Their historical value aside, the present records are well
worth the acquisition at the price specified and should suc-
cessfully complement a collection of Italian music. Further
recordings by Mascagni would be interesting, viz, the Cicalec-
cio from I Rantzau and the Duette del Ciliege from L’Amico
Fritz. R. B.
Wolf: Italian Serenade, played by a Symphony Orches-
tra conducted by Fritz Stiedry. Columbia G-50236-D 1 (D12,
$1.25).
Hugo Wolfs lieder have never attracted their due meed
of phonographic attention. It is curious therefore that the
vastly less familiar side of his talent should find discographic
expression, especially as his orchestral works are so seldom
played in concert. For orchestra alone he wrote only three
works: a symphony in B flat (there are sketches for an-
other), a symphonic poem (“Penthesilea”) , and the present
serenade, the first movement of a projected suite of three for
small orchestra. The material for the work was drawn from
an early string quartet. It is in rondo form, with a prin/foi-
pal and two alternating themes. The tempo is lebhajt, find
despite the occasional echoes of Schumann and Strauss, there
is a buoyancy and fineness of grain here — for all the unpre-
tentiousness of the material — that are wholly his own, and that
give the piece a delicate charm in no wise inferior to that of
his best songs. The music stimulates the listener to an interest
in the singular genius of the composer, perhaps best described
in the study by Romain Rolland and the biography by Ern-
est Newman.
The orchestra called for is small: two each of flutes, oboes,
clarinets, bassoons, and horns, together with string choir and
a part for solo viola. The instrumentation has been edited
by Max Reger. Dr. Stiedry conducted the Columbia disc of
Brahms’ Academic Overture a few months ago and conducted
it well. Evidently he is a man of well-rounded sympathies,
for despite Wolf’s own antipathy towards Brahms (he was
accused by the Brahmins of “blasphemy against the Holy
Ghost”), Stiedry displays genuine insight into the serenade,
conducting it with a hand as light and pointed as it was vig-
orous for the lusty Brahms overture. The delicacy of the 1
work is well retained in the recording, and the undesignated
orchestra gives a sensitive performance. A work to be warm-
ly recommended.
Ippolitow-Iwanow : Caucasian Sketches — No. 1 “In the
■Mountain Pass ” and No. 3, “In the Mosque,” played by the
Victor Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rosario Bour-
don. Victor '36017 (D12, $1.25).
Ippolitow-Iwanow’s Caucasian suite has long been known
in this country by two numbers only, In the Village and the
finale — variously titled Procession of the Sarder and March
of the Caucasian Chief. It is interesting to hear for the
first time what the remaining numbers are like, particularly
as played under the alert and dependable hands of Mr. Bour-
don. In the Mountain Pass has very marked overtones of
the Magic Fire Music from Die Walkufe. Like the more
familiar pieces in the set it is richly and darkly colored tf!n
orchestration, and the well-turned performance here makes
the most of its sonority. The material itself is broadly song-
ful, but lacking the more distinctive touch of the march. In
the Mosque cultivates quiet semi-oriental idioms in the style
of the Rimsky school. The wood wind choir is given good
opportunity to display tangful tone qualities. The music is
interesting rather than significant, but the disc commendably
fills a gap long left open.
Verdi: (arr. E. Tavan ) : Aida — Grand Fantasy , played by
Marek Weber’s Orchestra. Victor (International list) V-
50024 (D12, $1.25).
A well-turned potpourri that is confined less exclusively to
the more bombastic moments of the music than the average
fantasy. The recording is powerful, but the conductor is less
energetic than is his wont, without however losing the music’s
momentum or animation. O. C. O.
Massenet: Scenes Alsaciennes, played by a Symphony
Orchestra under the direction of Pierre Chagnon. Col-
umbia 50237-D (D12, $1.25), 223-9-D (2 DIOs, 75c each).
Massenet, purveyor of musical sweetmeats for the bour-
geoisie, composed seven suites for orchestra, the most popu-
lar being the “Scenes Pittoresques.” The “Alsatian Scenes.”
the last of the series, was inspired, it is said, by the story of
Daudet, “Alsace : Alsace !”, lamenting the loss of the Alsace-
Lorraine provinces.
If here was something calling for heroic touch, for brave
music like that of the little known opus, the “Overture of
1812,” Massenet did not avail himself of the opportunity.
The music has a rustic flavor and is stamped with the Mas-
senet hallmark, the sentimental melodic curve which in these
enlightened days is considered the one unforgivable sin. Only
three of the four movements are recorded: “Sunday Morn-
ing,” a neat little Pastorale with lush passages for the wood
winds; “At the Tavern,” with its sprightly waltz tune and
hunting song; and “Sunday Evening,” with more episodes
involving Alsatian airs and with time out for the roll of
drums and trumpets sounding the retreat. No. 3, “Under the
Lindens,” an adagietto, love-scene, is omitted. (For a de-
tailed description of the music, see page 331 of the July 1929
issue.)
The performance is highly animated and the conductor
makes much out of the music. These discs are very easy to
listen to — especially when you are in the mood for lighter
fare. It is a wonder that some maestro of the radio does not
let up on poor Peter Uyitch for a while and turn to Massenet.
A. A. B.
CHORAL
Gretchaninoff: Zwei Alte Hochzeitlieder, and Dortnjan
sky: Kolj Slaven (How Glorious!) sung by the Don Cos-»
sacks Choir, conducted by Serg Jaroff. Columbia 50239-D
(D12, $1.25).
Sensational choral recordings which should whet the appe-
tite of American-goers for this famous organization which
will make its first American tour next season. No more re-?
markable choral work has been heard on records than the
truly stunning work of these Cossack choristers.
.The chorus, How Glorious, abounds in thrilling dynamic
contrasts, ranging from melting pianissimo to a robust clim-
ax, the unusually rich bass section forming a stalwart support
for the brighter voices in the mounting surge of the music.
Passion, poetry and cold brilliance of Siberian air is in their
song.
The typically Russian wedding songs employ a solo voice,
accompanied by a vocal obbligato, approximating to a strik-
ing extent the tone quality of an orchestra. The numbers
are superbly recorded and should have a phenomenal sale.
No music-lover will want to be without them.
Memory strays back to a Night at Yar’s in the Chauve-
Souris. What this chorus would do to those Gypsy songs!
R, B.
September, 1930, Vol. IV, No. 12
425
OPERATIC
Cavalleria Rusticana — Opening C horns ( Gli aranci olez-
zano”) . and Don Pasquale — Vado Corro (“Che Interminabile
an Diri”), Act III, sung by the La Scala Chorus, Milan with
orchestral accompaniment. Brunswick 90070 (D 12, $1.50).
The Don Pasquale fragment is incorrectly labeled Vado
Corro which is the duet for soprano and baritone at the end
of Act 1. The scene recorded here is probably the chorus at
the beginning of Act III similar to the one issued by Colum-
bia in July by the Chorus of La Scala in Milan. What with
these and the current Victor releases this group at least can
not be said to lack opportunity for continued employment.
It would be interesting to know how many are employed at
a time and if the same group makes records for each com-
pany.
The Cavalleria number is sung with animation and beauty
of tone. The contrast between overwhelming sonority and
delicate pianissimi in the other number is somewhat start-
ling, but the music is delightful and makes one wish for
more electrical recordings from the opera.
Mozart: Don Giovanni — Serenata (“ Deh vieni al finestra”
— Act II) and “Finch Han Dal Vino” — Act I sung in Italian
by Ezio Pinza with orchestral accompaniment. Victor 1467
(D10 $1.50).
The current Metropolitan revival of this famous opera
made some sort of recording inevitable. The serenade is Mo-
zart incarnate; i.e., elegance of melody, form and rhythm,
and Pinza’s bass seems well suited to the music. At the
time the revival was announced Mr. Gatti gave out the state-
ment that the role was originally intended for a basso can-
tante rather than a baritone and Signor Pinza’s success in
the role, while not outstanding, seemed to prove this state-
ment. This serenade long since vanished from the current
Victor catalogue but how many readers remember the ver-
sions of Scotti, (88194), Ruffo (87112), Hector Dufranne
(45011) and De Luca (62623, which was made in Europe
and was double-faced, backed by the catalogue aria sung by
one Arcangelo Rossi, and sold for 75c)?
The drinking song on the other side of the record is taken
at breakneck speed as the Don prates of wine and women in
song. Splendidly sung in this instance. The accompani-
ments are very well done, especially the mandolin part on
the first side.
La Boheime: Song of the Coat (“Vecchia Zimarra”) and
Faust: M ephistopheles’ Serenade (Tu che fai l’addormenta-
ta) sung in Italian by Tancred Pasero, with orchestral accom-
paniments. Columbia 2214-D (D 10, 75c).
Through some inadvertency in mixing up various pages of
copy at the last minute before publication the review which
appeared last month was incorrect. A well merited rebuke
and chagrin at my carelessness prompts the following cor-
rection..
Two familiar bass arias sung in a manner slightly more
than routine. The Faust fragment seems too restrained and cer-
tainly the dear old coat must have been alarmed to have so
much loud singing directed towards it (and this is where the
end of one page came and the following was omitted), even
if the aria itself hadn’t turned out to be an abridged edi-
tion of the Prologue to Mefistofele by Boito. Is it the same
as on record 1961-D by the same artist and company?
Pagliacci: Prologue (sung in Italian), and Carmen: Tor-
eador Song (sung in French), by Michael Bohnen, with
orchestral accompaniments. Brunswick 50163 (D12, $2.00).
I might qualify the review of this record by saying that
Bohnen is superb in the German repertoire. Since his first
appearance in New York, criticisms have been made of a
mannered style, exaggeration, etc., yet in reality he has per-
formed valiant service in keeping the Wagnerian roles from
falling into a rut, and making roles like Kezal, Caspar, Jon-
ny, and many others, vivid and interesting.
The present coupling does not exhibit him in his best
vein (as illustrated so admirably in his preceding release —
arias from The Magic Flute and Das Rheingold — Brunswick
50162). The Toreador’s song is punctuated with violent cres-
cendos to indicate Escamillo’s enthusiasm, and while the
Pagliacci prologue is more restrained, it differs very consid-
erably from the accepted style of performance without pos-
sessing the conviction of a well-considered as well as new
conception of the work.
THE POSTMAN
brings us every day orders for records from
far-off corners of the world, and every day
other postmen are delivering packages of
records to customers thousands of miles
away. Day in and day out, hundreds of
parcels traveling thousands of miles, bring
to our clients scattered throughout the
world, the very finest recorded music, for
their enjoyment and study. It is such a
simple matter to order records by mail.
And, as safe delivery is always guaranteed,
more and more collectors are taking advarp
tage of the opportunity of selecting their
discs from the largest stock of records avail'
able anywhere.
H. ROYER SMITH CO.
“The World’s Record Shop”
Reg. U. S. Pat. Off.
10th & Walnut Streets
Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.A.
Songs
Godard: J ocelyn-Berceuse (“Angels Guard Thee”), and
Jakobowski: Ermine-Lullaby , sung by Hulda Lashanska,
soprano with orchestral accompaniments. Victor 1469 (D
10, $1.50).
A felicitous combination of thrice familiar slumber songs
by the radiant-voiced Lashanska who achieves the feat of
making these hackneyed excerpts seem almost new by the
beauty of her voice and performance. Especially charming is
the Ermine number with the soft high notes at the cflosei.
Shades of Marie Janssen and Pauline Hall!
Romberg: Student Prince — Serenade sand Frimi: 7/ Amour
Tou jours V Amour sung by Richard Crooks, with orchestral
accompaniments. Victor 1478 (D 10, $1.50).
Two semi-popular songs that are in their way classics. The
first with a male ensemble, as in the stage production, is
sung with warmth of feeling and unusual brightness of tone
even for this artist, and the second fills a long felt want for
an adequate recording of the ballad. The ending is different
from most versions, with a falsetto tone rather than a ff
climax.
Treharne: Corals, and Johnson: 7/ Thou wert Blind,
sung in English by Louis Graveure with piano accompani-
ments by Walter Golde. Columbia 2240-D (D 10, 75c).
This Graveure release does not differ materially from
others in his latter-day style. With the advent of his tenor
voice have come many vocal mannerisms and tricks of style
unworthy of the artistry which he used to display so con-
sistently. The present strained quality of his singing does
not prove that the change was a fortunate one. The songs
themselves are an excellent argument for German lieder in
a “language that you can’t understand.”
Denza: Se — and Seismit-Doda : Notte Lunar e sung by
Beniamino Gigli in Italian with orchestral accompaniments.
Victor 7261 (D12, $2.00).
Italianate singing of a familiar ballad and an unfamiliar
one cast in minor mood. R. B.
426
The Phonograph Monthly Review
String Quartet
Mozart: String Quartet in G (Kochel 387)— Second and
Fourth Movements, played by the Guarneri String Quartet
(Karpilowsky, Stromfeld, Kroyt, Lutz). Brunswick 90069
(D12, $1.50).
Brunswick’s release of two of the most appealing move-
ments of a Mozart quartet, played by a thoroughly capable
organization, is well considered. The issue of the remaining
movements is of course to be anticipated, but there is a very
definite place for single chamber music discs of the first order.
The novice to chamber music is usually encouraged to make
its acquaintance through snippits or transcriptions of popu-
lar piano pieces. The man who knows and enjoys a Mozart
symphony will be stimulated by the hearing of a disc like
this to go farther into the quartet repertory, where a trans-
scription of the Schumann Traumerei, say, would be no in-
centive. The Quartet in G (major, by the way, and not
minor as labelled) is the first in the series dedicated ,to
Haydn— of which the fourth (B flat— '‘Hunting” quartet)
was released last April in a recording by the Leners for Col-
umbia. The minuet of the present work is unusually inter-
esting in its structure and force and individuality with which
it is rhythmed. The finale, with its vigorous fugal writing,
is an exceedingly happy example of Mozart’s virile delicacy.
The music’s qualities are admirably brought out in the play-
ing, which immensely zestful and lithesome, and the clean
open recording. O. C. O.
Piano
Chopin: Fantasie Impromptu, Op. 66 and Mazurka in B
flat, Op. 7, No. 1, played by Alexander Brailowsky. Bruns-
wick 90068 (D12, $1.50).
Mr. Brailowsky’s interpretation of the Fantasie is, for the
most part, quite conventional, even to the sentimentalized
middle section. His heated beginning however, is extraordin-
ary, and it is the high mark of the record. In the mazurka,
he has delightfully accented the dance rhythm, so that one
is convinced that it is a dance, and not simply a piece of
piano music, which impression is too often given by lesser
pianists. That crispness of tone which marks his individuali-
ty is here keenly evident. The recording is a fine one.
Desiderius Demeny (arr. Horowitz) : Danse Exotique, and
Liszt (arr. Buscysr) : Pagannini Etude in F flat, played by
Vladimir Horowitz. Victor 1468 (D10, $1.50).
This little record is a pleasant surprise. One should not be
misled by the title, for it is not exotic music, but rajther ec-
centric music which might accompany an exotic dance. It
is modern in treatment, most youthful, even adolescent, in
spirit, and of jazzy pep. Its patness recalls Poulenc in his
most clever and lusty mood — for it is essentially witty. It
is what Gershwin, in his “serious” music, tries to do — that is,
fuse the inventions of jazz and all the varieties of musical
devices with significant and catchy content. The combina-
tion of this dance’s charm and Horowitz’s facile brilliance
make, it a record one will not tire of after repeated playings.
Demeny is a Hungarian, who has been a priest, choirmaster
at St. Stephens, Vienna, and editor of the Hungarian journal
Zenekozlonv. He has composed songs, masses, and melo-
dramas — and has thrice taken the Zichy prize for orchestral
works.
. The reverse side presents a good deal of sound and fury
signifying nothing more than an exposition of Horowitz tech-
nique in octaves.
Violin
Pugnani: Largo Espressivo, and Tempo di Minuetto (arr.
Kreisler), played by Georges Enesco, with piano accompani-
ments by Sanford Schlussel. Columbia 50235-D (D12
$1.25).
The phrase “early Italian composers” often serves as a
convenient category in which to class that horde of prolific
masters who were contemporary with and immediately after
Scarlatti, Vivaldi, and Corelli. Gaetano Pugnani was one of
these, but on hearing his music the inadequacy of conven-
ient phrases becomes apparent; despite their sameness of
purity and line, each of the major Italian composers had his
individual stamp, just as there are marked differences be-
tween Rameau and Couperin. The Tempo di Minuetto is
about as perfect an example of old style and melody as one
could want; the Largo is completely satisfying emotionally.
Enesco proves himself master of the highly difficult, subtle-
ties of phrases upon which so very much depends in Pug-
nani,— also the easily exaggerated embellishments. It is his
restraint which forms the essence of Enesco’s violinistic
charm. Mr. Schlussel’s accompaniment deserves praise, for
he makes himself heard, which is more than many of his
colleagues will do. when playing for a well-known violinist.
De Falla: Spanish Dance (arr. Kreisler), and Dobrowen:
Fairy Tale, Op. 16, played by Max Rosen, with piano ac-
companiments by Richard Wilens. Brunswick 50164 (D12,
$ 2 . 00 ).
There have already been several orchestral versions record-
ed of this dance from “El Vida Breve.” This is particularly
good recording of Kreisler’s transcription for violin and piano.
It is of course highly Spanish music with the customary vol-
uptuous swoops and sudden fits of temper; de Falla’s occa-
sional eccentricity makes it even more fitful, and tempera-
mentally as well as musically modulating. Max jRosen, who
has hitherto been relegated to less serious music has the op-
portunity of demonstrating larger talents. He plays with
considerable energy, but a sameness of tone runs almost
throughout the piece and one feels a breathless eagerness in
his playing to the exclusion of “kunstpausen.” The same
may be said in regard to his tone on the reverse side, though
here there is more opportunity to exhibit its compactness.
Issaye Dobrowen is a young Russian composer and conduc-
tor, trained at the Moscow Conservatory and by the omni-
present Godowsky. He has written a musical fairy-play, —
“1001 Nacht,” piano and violin sonatas, and several piano
and violin pieces. The fairy tale, Op. 16, Mr. Rosen plaj^s
here is not highly original — that is, it reveals a number of
influences, but it is quite lovely in a melancholy way, and
the folksong flavor is pleasantly blended.
Kreisler: The Old Refrain (Viennese Popular Song), and
Hueberger (arr. Kreisler) Midnight Bells (from “The Opera
Ball”), played by Fritz Kreisler, with accompaniments by
Carl Lam son. Victor 1465 (D10, $1.50).
Two of the stock favorites in the Kreisler repertory, form-
erly issued on Victor 720 (with The Rosary) and 717 (with
Aucassin and Nicolette). The new recordings possess all the
familiar Kreisler stylistic characteristics, and the pieces’ easy
tunefulness ensure them a wide public.
Violoncello
Boccherini: Adagio and Allegro in A major, played by
Pablo Casals, with piano accompaniments by Blas-Net.
Victor 7258 (D12, $2.00).
Boccherini, whom Haydn was proud to consider a com-
peer, composed prolifically, with generous attention to his
own instrument, the ’cello. Casals has long evidenced great
admiration for his works and has played his ’cello concerto
widely in concert. No indication is made on the label, but
I presume these pieces are from a sonata. They are rather
dry — like much of Boccherini’s writing — and give small scope
to Casals’ precise perfection and the subtle recording. They
are of course “good music,” but not inspiring, and sounding
slightly withered. Casals’ graduations of volume and nth
degree control of pianissimos are, however, things to marvel
at. The record is worth while if only as an exposition of his
incomparable musicianship.
Goltermann: Andante, and Pergolese: Tre Giorni (Si-
ciliana from “Nina”), played by Felix Salmond, with piano
accompaniments by Harry Kaufman. Columbia 2249-D
(D19, 75c).
There were two Goltermanns who achieved note as ’cello
virtuosi and composers. The label does not specify whether
Georg Eduard or Johann August Julius is to be accredited
with this little cantilena, with its echoes of the Melody in F.
Salmond’s strong, singing tone makes the most of its plain-
tive sentiment. Pergolesi (the spelling with a final “i” is
preferable, I believe) has lately come into considerable vogue
with the moderns. Strawinski’s Pulcinella ballet is based
upon his melodies. This pastoral dance touches a deeper
vein of feeling than the more facile Andante, and Salmond
playing is more convincingly and sincerely keyed. Both are
recorded with Salmond’s invariable effectiveness.
September, 1930, Vol. IV, No. 12
427
String Orchestra
Londonderry Air (arr. Percy Grainger), and Dubensky:
Gossips, played by the Philadelphia Chamber String Sim-
fonietta, conducted by Fabien Sevitzky. Victor 4186 (DIO,
$ 1 . 00 ).
The organization founded and led by Fabien Sevitzky is
the first string ensemble to attain any measure of phono-
graphic popularity. The present selections possess more
popular appeal than musical significance. With all due re-
spect for Mr. Grainger’s arranging skill, his transcription of
the familiar Irish air is far too rich and sweet: one can al-
most smell the over-fragrant roses, and much of the tune’s
Celtic charm is lost among the Wagnerian harmonization.
Dubensky’s piece, played in Pizzicato throughout, is ap-
propriately garrulous in an amiable way. E. Y. G.
Band
Sousa: Nobles oj the Mystic Shrine, and White: The
Saracen Guard, played by the Century of Progress Band
(Official Band, Chicago World’s Fair, 1933), conducted by
Max Bendix. Brunswick 4796 (DIO, 75c).
Playing and recording are more vigorous here than in the
“Century of Progress Band’s” first release, last March. Again
the conductor displays a tendency toward accentuated dyna-
mic contrasts. The Sousa march is a bombastic piece, stir-
ring enough, but lacking the characteristic Sousa color. The
Saracen Guard is more smoothly turned, and played here to
good effect.
Scharwenka: Polish Dance. Op. 3. No. 1, and Gounod:
Queen oj Sheba March, played by B. B. C. Wireless Mili-
tary Band, conducted by B. Walton O’Donnell. Colum-
bia 50240-D (D12, $1.25).
The B. B. C. Band has a skillful way with transcriptions,
as proved so brilliantly by its coupling of Golliwogg’s Cake-
Walk and Rimsky-Korsakow’s March of the Tumblers of a
few months back. Here the material is more orthodox, but
again the playing is pointed and energetic. The tone is
coarser than in the earlier release. The Polish Dance is a
familiar piano-piece — once recorded by the composer him-
self for Columbia.
King: Pageantry, and Alexander: Colossus oj Columbia,
played by Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey’s
Band, conducted by Merle Evans. Victor 22474 (DIO, 75c).
A second release by the big circus band, powerfully re-
corded, and with fine local color contributed by the calliope,
which — by the way — carries off the playing honors with ease.
Madelon, and It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary, played
by the Victor Novelty Band, conducted by Nat Shilkret,
Victor 22487 (DIO, 75c).
The current (or iis it recent by this time?) craze for war
books and movies, together with the approach of the Ameri-
can Legion convention, are no doubt the stimulus that
prompted this coupling of war-time favorites. The arrange-
ments, particularly of the Tipperary tune, are quite elaborate,
betraying the ingenious hand of Mr. Shilkret. Both pieces
have vocal refrains.
I Vespri Siciliani — Overture, played by the Corpo Musi-
cale della R. Marina Italian a. Victor (Italian list) V-
62011 (D12, $1.25).
It is a pleasure to hear the iRoyal Italian Marine Band in
a work that gives greater scope to its powers than the pot-
pourris of operatic airs to which it is usually relegated. This
is one of its best discs, exhibiting its characteristic qualities
of dark tonal coloring, invigoration, animation and forceful-
ness, and a breadth and richness of treatment that avoids an
excess of Italianate mannerisms.
Theatre Organ
Quentin A. Maclean , playing the Compton Theatre Organ,
Shepherds Bush Pavilion, England, couples a fervent, very
sweet transcription of the Barcarolle from the Tales of Hoff-
mann with a vastly more effective version of Gounod’s Fun-
eral March of a Marionette. The recording is quite strong.
(Columbia 2251-D)".
POPULAR
Movie Songsters
J. Harold Murray, who is rapidly duplicating in the mov-
ies his success on the musical comedy stage, makes his disc
debut in hits from his Fox show, “Women Everywhere” —
Smile Legionnaire and Beware of Love (Brunswick 4836).
The first is orthodox bombastic he-man stuff, trolled out with
considerable verve, but the smoother lyric gives better op-
portunity to demonstrate the attractiveness of Murray’s
voice. Victor introduces Everett Marshall, of the operatic
stage, another powerful baritone. His singing in hits from
“Dixiana” is rather over-resonant for best reproduction, but
he makes much of the worthy successor to “Old Man River”
— Mr. and Mrs. Sippi. Goodbye Old Pals, on the other side,
is more conventional martial material (22472). Helen Kane
also appears under the Victor label in I’ve Got ”It* but it
Don’t Do Me No Good and My Man is on the Make (22475),
characteristic material for her now-familiar vocalizations, but
more amusing and less formalized than some of her recent re-
leases. Charles King is big-voiced and given strong support
in well animated versions of Here Comes the Sun and Leave
a Little Smile (Brunswick 4849), Highway to Heaven and
Love Comes in the Moonlight (4840).
Male Ensembles
Columbia leads in this classification with three good discs.
I like best the unconventional spirit and amusing material
of the West Pointers , a well-known radio group, which sings
The Regular Army, Oh! (a very near folk song), The Raw
Recruit, and Mademoiselle from Armentieres (2244-D) with
a very refreshing zest and directness. The bass, Lt. O’Fla-
herty, is outstanding. The Happy Chappies proffer more
hackneyed fare: My Pretty Quadroon and By a Window,
sentimental harmonizations with hill billy flavor. ..The Ron-
doliers, however, strike a lively note in their enthusiastic
performances of two peppy songs — Cheer Up and Here
Comes the Sun (2253). For Brunswick Earl Burtnett’s Trio
sings Sdng of the Islands and Old Plantation in its mo^t
plaintive crooning style (4350).
Instru mentals
There are surprisingly few popular instrumental releases
this month. The only salon orchestra is Victor’s, led by
Shilkret, heard in ultra-expressive versions of Mem’ries and
Song of the Soul (22466) . Lee Sims is the sole pianist, play-
ing ingenious versions of St. Louis Blues and I Wish I Could
Shimmy Like My Sister Kate in his best style and aided by
a first rate trumpet soloist (Brunswick 4780). Hawaiian mu-
sic is purveyed for its devotees by the Ferera Trio on Okeh
41439 and Palakiki and Paaluhi on Brunswick 4853.
Crooners
Nick Lucas sings bland versions of Dancing with Tears
in My Eyes and Telling it to the Daisies (Brunswick 4834),
Singing a Song to_ the Stars and My Heart Belongs to . the
Girl W!ho Belongs to Somebody Else (4860). Segar Ellis
likewise honeyed in Old New England Moon (Okeh 41436),
but his coupling of Swingin’ in a Hammock is more animated
with greater life. For Columbia Art GUlham and Lee Morse i
go through their conventional paces, neither as effectively as
in some of their best recordings; Gillham’s tremolo recitan-
does furnish “high powered sentiment” indeed (2245-D), while
Miss Morse’s delivery is jerkier than usual in Little White
Lies, a rather clever song, though her Nobody Cares is done
more neatly (2248-D). Aileen Stanley makes a return to
discs after a long absence, during which it is quite likely
that she has lost the distinction she once held of having
made more recordings than any other popular singer. Swing-
in’ in a Hammock and I Love You So Much (Victor 22469)
are done smoothly yet with good verve.
Separate classifications goes to Belle Baker, Sandy . McFar-
lane, Allen McQuhae and Frank Crumit. The first is at her
big-voiced best in a lusty performance of Cheer Up, coupled
with a more songful and less distinctive I’m Needin’ You
(Brunswick 4843). Sandy tells and sings of Granny’s Heil-
428
The Phonograph Monthly Review
an’ Hame on Columbia 2250-D, a two part song-sketch written
about his own home in Embo, Scotland, where the Scottish
comedian — the best of his kind since Lauder — is now visiting.
McQuhae is heard in two Irish songs, End of the Cobble-
stone Road and Dawn Brought Me Love and You (Bruns-
wick 4711) that are out and sung to highly formalized pat-
terns. Crurnit brings out a sequel to his Abdul Abulbul
Amir disc wherein Abdul returns for another battle with
terrible Ivan. The coupling is a lively ballad of the race
tracks, I’m Bettin’ the Roll on Roamer, done in Crumit’s in-
imitable manner. (Victor 22482).
Hill Billy
My old favorite in the ballad ranks, Marc Williams , is
back this month with typical tales of Crepe Upon the Little
Cabin Door and Cowboy Jack, sung and recorded in his us-
ual fetching manner (Brunswick 430). Johnny Dodds gives
vivacious warning to Stay Away from my Chicken House
(Okeh 45462) ; Jack Webb , the 101 Ranch Cowboy, sings
ballads of the Night Guard and the Roving Cowboy in a
booming yet smoothly handled voice (Victor V-40285) ;
Carson Robison gives a jocose account of Life in the Navy
(Brunswick 442) ; Dan Hornsby revives the old heartbreak-
er Just a Baby’s Prayer at Twilight (Columbia 15578-D) ;
and the McCravy Brothers duettize highly pathetic song on
Okeh 45466 — Can a Boy Forget his Mother?
Race
Best is the Utica Jubilee Singers’ spirituals on Victor 22465
— perfervid, slow swinging solos and responses, Lord I Have
Done and Mighty Day, a good addition to their series. Men-
tion also goes to Lonnie Johnson and Spencer Williams in
a roguish repercussion of the race hit Six or Seven Times,
entitled Once or Twice (Okeh 8812) ; Barbecue Bob in a gay
She Moves It Just Right (Columbia 14546-D) ; Bunn and
Williams in Goose and Gander and Cleah It Out (Victor
V-38602).
DANCE
Revivals
Ted Lewis abandons his usual style to do the Three O’-
clock in the Morning waltz and the World is Waiting for
the Sunrise in luscious fashion, and grand sentiment, which
however is happily sauced as the pieces go on by his pathe-
tic recitation in the former and the jazzier measures that
close the latter (Columbia 2246-D). The Louisiana Rhythm
Kings dig up one of Gershwin’s early hits, the fine Swanee
from “Sinbad” and do it up in good hot style, coupled with
a slow Meanest Kind o’Blues (Brunswick 4845.) Red Nichols
re-animates I’m Just Wild About Harry from “Shuffling
Along,” featuring Jimmy Dorsey’s marvellous saxophoning;
also After You’ve Gone, done with some remarkable pace
changes (Brunswick 4839).
The March Craze
The public fancy for martial rhythms, aroused by the
Stein Song and Around the Corner, is offered further food in
the way of Betty Co-Ed, played by Rudy Valee on Victor
22473 (with Violet and Friends — collegiate songs), by Bob
Haring on Brunswick 4852 (coupled with a very peppery
performance of I Love You So Much), and Johnny Walker
on Columbia 2247-D (coupled with a merry version of Kitty
from Kansas City). Honors are evenly divided.
Spanish and German Flavors
The versatile Marek Weber demonstrates that he is as
much at home in Spanish dance music as in Teutonic. His
paso doble playing in Soldadito Espanol and Vaya Veronica
is exhilarating and vivacious to the nth degree (Victor
46943 — Spanish list), while his series of German talkie hits
in the German list reveals his more polished style to equally
good effect. Of the four discs, Victor V-6075 to V-6078, I
like best the last, hits from the film, “Zwei Herzen im 3/4
Takt,” very catchy tune with splendid vocalizations by Web-
er’s start cherister. This songster, Herr Egen by name,
demonstrated his talents again in Ich Hab’ eine kleine braune
Mandoline, coupled with the Victor orchestra’s Stein Lied
on V-6076. The other films represented are “Heute Nacht —
eventuell . . .” and “Der Liebeswalzer.”
Prize Winners
Don Azpiazu and his Havana Casino Orchestra, who made
their debut a month or two ago, are heard in more character-
istic fare on Victor 22483, a remarkable Rumba fox trot (Pea-
nut Vendor — a street cry worked up into a fine dance piece)
and True Love, irresistibly rhythmed. The choruses are in
Spanish. Victor’s Dance Record of the Month is one of
the best to date, Waring’ s Pennsylmnians’ delicate and
sprightly performance of Without Love — by far the best re-
corded dance version — and a more songful and orthodox So
Beats My Heart For You (22486). Columbia has a winner
in Bert Lown and his Hotel Biltmore orchestra who play
their big radio hit, Bye Bye Blues in beautifully smooth style
with good coloring (Columbia 2258-D). The coupling is an
easy-going performance of Under the Moon It’s You. Guy
Lombardo does another big broadcast hit, Confessing and
does it in his best style (Columbia 2259-D). The coupling
is a dreamy, subdued Good Evenin’, nicely played, but
scarcely as effective. Okeh’s winner is Frankie Trumbauer in
a great performance of Hittin’ the Bottle, very powerfully
recorded, and with refreshingly original choruses (Trumbauer
himself?). What’s the Use, on the other side, is not as strik-
ing, but it displays some fine saxophone work (Okeh 41437).
For Brunswick I sham Jones (now back as a regular recording
band, I hope) does a beautifully restrained piece of playing
with Stardust and none other than Joyce Kilmer’s Trees, set
to fox trot rhythm (4856). Strongly contrasting, but no less
effective, is Ben Bernie’s gusty performance of Highway to
Heaven, cdupled with a swinging, attractively animated and
colored version of Love Comes in the Moonlight (Bruns-
wick 4850).
The Torrid Masters
Okeh maintains its established reputation for hot discs of
■superior merits. This month I pass over even the redoubt-
able Louis Armstrong and the talented Luis Russell in favor
of Jack Purvis — whose Poor Richard, released a few months
ago, was one of the most remarkable hot creations of the
season. On 8808 he plays Be Bo Bo and Dismal Dan in
scarcely less remarkable fashion, featuring as before the sensa-
tional pianoing of Frank Froba as well as Purvis’ own trump-
eting. Duis Rusdell is not far behind, however, with a fer-
vent performance and interesting arrangement of On Revival
Day, coupled with a fetching drag, Louisiana Swing, that
boasts a number of very striking instrumental effects (8811).
Louis Armstrong’s disc brings back the Indian Cradle Song,
done in powerful fashion, and Exactly Like You — in which
he demonstrates again the forcefulness and originality of
treatment by which he can revive a hackneyed tune of the
moment and get genuine feeling into it (41423). Bruns-
wick’s best bet in the hot ranks is Andy Kirk’s orchestra, a
jaunty organization that displays its eccentricities rather than
its best points in Snag It and Sweet and Hot (4878). Mary’s
Idea (4863) is sprightlier although rather shrill, but the
coupling, — Once or Twice — is done in the easy-going catchy
style of this band’s best work.
In the long Victor race lists Lhike Ellington and Jelly-Roll
Morton stand out. The former plays Sweet Dreams of Love
in very bland and yet resilient fashion, coupled with a hot
yet dapper Sweet Jazz o’ Mine — the latter with some fine
snatches of the Duke’s own piano (V-38143). The Morton
Trio (piano, clarinet, and traps) does an exceedingly jaunty
performance of That’s Like It Ought to Be, coupled with a
less distinctive Little Dixie Home (V-38601). The other re-
leases are not outstanding: Bubber Miley couples neat ver-
sions of Black Maria and Chinnin’ and Chattin’ (V-38146) ;
McKinney’s Cotton Pickers play a bold, rather coarse I’ll
Make Fun for You, coupled with a slow songful Then Some-
one’s in Love (V-38142). Most curious of all is W38141,
whereon Jimmie Luncejord and his Chickasaw Syncopators
play Sweet Rhythm and In Dat Mornin’, the latter a singu-
lar dance piece with a Negro sermon for vocal refrain.
September, 1930, Vol. IV, No. 12
429
Columbia’s only entry in the hot ranks is a peppy debut
by a new ensemble, the Three Old Salts (fiddle, -guitar,
comb), who proffer an attractive medley of wise-crackery
with jaunty hot jazz in Shore Leave and Port Hole Blues
(2242-D).
The Field
Brunswick: O’er the Billowy Sea and Karavan by the
Louisiana Rhythm Kings is not as colorful as their other re-
lease this month (4908) ; Ray Miller couples a very senti-
mental Beneath Montana Skies with a vigorous Montana—
the latter betraying the Stein Song influence (4857) ; Tom
Gerun and Tom Clines share sides of 4865, with the for-
mer’s gay Sittin’ on a Rainbow edging out the latter’s smooth
and pleasing Just a Little Closer; the Castlewood Marimba
Band plays admirably through Old New England Moon and
Girl of Your Dream waltzes (4841), Lo-Lo and Waiting for
You (4842) ; the Colonial Club is very sad and subdued in
My Future Just Passed and conventional in My Guitar and
You (4846) ; Bob Haring makes a neat contrast between his
spirited Swingin’ in a Hammock and the melancholy All
Through the Night (4851); the Colonial Club comes back
to turn in an enthusiastic performance of Hittin’ the Bottle
and a prettily colored, highly danceable Out of a Clear Blue
Sky (4858) ; the Anglo-Persions link a rich version of In
Memory of You with the Colonial Club's How Are You To-
night in Hawaii — a good example of Hawaiian idiom that
still retains qualities of sonority and well turned orchestra-
tion (4866) ; Tom Gerun’ s Sweetheart Serenade is somewhat
forced and jerky, but his Rollin’ Down the River in his best
style (4859) ; Earl Burtnett and the Regent Club share sides
of 4861 with Here Comes the Sun and Prince Charming
respectively.
Columbia: Ben Selvin’s It’s Easy to Fall in Love and
Have You Forgotten Waikiki are done in good humored
jazzy style — the former is a catchy tune (2255-D) ; the
Knickerbockers turn in conventional performances of Won-
der and Where Can You Be (2241-D) ; the Lazy Levee
\Ldungers belie their name in a very energetic Shout Sister
Shout ! and a slower swinging, well rhythmed If I Could Be
With You (2243-D) ; Ted Wallace’s Hittin’ the Bottle is
less spirited than most versions, but he does a good piece of
work with Little White Lies (2254-D) ; the Columbia Photo -
Players offer orthodox performances of Just a Little Closer
and Live and Love (2256-D).
Okeh : the New York Syncopators are aimiably songful in
Beware of Love but get more animation into It Seems to Be
Spring (41434) ; Ed Loyd is rather colorless in I’ve Got My
Eye on You and Just a Little Closer (41435) .
Victor: Out of Breath is amusingly played by Arden and
Ohman, but I’m Only Human — while a good song — is de-
livered in jerkier fashion (22481); Leonard Joys All-String
Orchestra gets some new color effects in pleasant versions
of Where Can You Be and I’m Needin’ You (22467) ; Gusx
Amheim does well with an attractively rhythmed perform-
ance of Gotta Yen for You coupled with Waring’ s Pennsyl-
vanians’ fine It Seems to Be Spring, — an interesting arrange-
ment in semi-symphonic salon style, marred only by the
crooned chorus (22470); Johnny Johnson is bright but not
too bumptious in Wah-Wah Gal and On Revival Day
(22468) ; Henry Thies plays mild but nicely toned versions
of Havin’ You Around and Emily Brown (22476), and his
If You Didn’t Care is smooth with a steady beat^-the coup-
ling is Shilkret’s quasi-symphonic Roses are For-Get-Me-
Nots (22477); honeyed marimba fare is dished out by the
Green Brothers in Lo-Lo and Somewhere in Wyoming
(22480), and Southern flavors by Blue Steele in How Can
You Forget? and Till the End of the World (V-40288). For
novelty there is Big Chief Henry’s Indian String Band (iin
the Southern lists) dome wild tom-tom and wah-hoo-wah
business in Indian Tom Tom, and a slow wailing lament in
the Indian’s Dream (V-40281).
Mr. and Mrs. Sippi
Nat Shilkret and the Victor Orchestra deserve separate
classification for their fine coupling of the title piece and
Mr. and Mrs. Sippi from “Dixiana.” The title song is a pep-
py affair, well turned, but the other song is one of the best
tunes of the season, ingeniously arranged here, and played
with fine instrumental color and verve. Rufus
FOREIGN
International. John Wilfahrt’s Concertina Orchestra,
whose Clarinet Polka of a few months back, scored a wide
success, is heard this month in a less striking coupling of
At the Mill and Dudes’ March (Brunswick 414). The Colum-
bia internationals are waltzes by the International Dance Or-
chestra and a waltz and polka by the Columbia orchestra,
vigorously but rather coarsely played. The Victor leader,
Weber’s Aida Fantasy is reviewed elsewhere under “Orches-
tral.” Giulietta Morino plays the Bach-Gounod Ave Maria
and Braga’s Angel’s serenade in honeyed violin versions
(Victor V-47). The latest disc of actual songs of Nightin-
gales and Cannaries from the Karl Reich Aviary of Bremen
is by far the best of the series — pleasant warbling to quiet
orchestral performances of the Tres Jolie and Wedding of the
Winds waltzes (Victor V-50).
Armenian. Columbia is alone with folk songs by Berber-
ian and Mouradian to oriental orchestral accompaniments
(28023-F and 28022-F).
Finnish. Best is Palgrem’s Finnish Romance played by
Arvo Hannikainen, violinist, and reviewed elsewhere (Vic-
tor V-4083). There are popular songs by Jurva and Silk from
Columbia and Finnish versions of the Song^ of the Flame and
Spring Song from the operetta “Kun Kevat Kutsuu” by
Jukka Ahti from Victor.
French-Canadian. The Juliette Gaultier Acadian, Es-
kimo, and British Columbia Indian songs (reviewed in de-
tail in the August issue) are now available in the Victor
French-Canadian supplement. Columbia releases banjo and
accordion solos, and Victor several dance and comic discs.
German. The leading releases are the Marek Weber series
of German talkie hits (reviewed among the popular records),
and a Columbia recording of Ivar Andresen heard in tre-
mendously weighty basso versions of Im kuhlen Keller and
Per Svinaherde so dear to Teutonic hearts (Columbia 55214-
F). Mention also goes to the enthusiastic peasant band that
plays a “Haus-Vaterland” potpourri on Victor V-56050, and
Romani’s Blumengedankei and Zartliche Herz waltzes on
Columbia 5196-F.
Hebrew-Jewish. Tbe advent of the Jewish New Year and
Day of Atonement bring out extensive lists from both Col-
umbia and Victor. The former features orchestral numbers
by Schwartz’s and Lichtenstein’s orchestra and songs by Can-
tors Hershmann, Josef Rosenblatt, and Rothstein; the latter
Red Seal discs of sacred songs by Cantors Kwartin and
Glantz, and black label releases by Cantors Malavsky, Vigo-
da. and Hyman — all with organ accompaniments.
Hungarian. There are popular songs by Iviraly and Csel-
eny from Victor, and a sketch of flyers’ departure (Endresz
and Magyar, pilots) from Columbia (10234-F), the latter with
the artists’ signatures engraved on the disc.
Italian. A sprightly waltz-polka coupling by the Serinese
orchestra heads the Brunswick list (58231), followed by
dances by the Brunswick orchestra, Sicilian and Neapolitan
songs by Citarella and Rubino, and Italian versions of Danc-
ing with Tears in My Eyes and Blue is the Night by Napoli-
tano (58328). Stella 'and Laurentis sing Neapolitan songs for
Columbia, and there are sketches by the Compagnia Comi-
ca “Alta Italia” and Sciascia and Cgmpany. First on the
Victor list is the overture to I Vespri Siciliani by the Italian
Marine Band (reviewed under “Band”), followed by comic
sketches and dance music by Marzari, Frosini, and the Quin-
tetto Palermitano.
Philippine. Cecilo Joaquin sings Ilocano songs to guitar
accompaniments on Columbia 4182-X and 4189-X.
Spanisii-Mexican. In connection with the celebration
of the Mexican Independence Day on September 15th, Vic-
tor issues three discs with special Mexican flag labels: march-
es by the Banda Victor, and sketches by the Cia Dramatica
Victor. There are long series of popular selections from
Brunswick, Okeh. Columbia, and Victor. A few of the best
are: a Paso Doble and Jota by the Orquesta Bonita (Bruns-
wick 41008), a march and waltz by the Orquesta del Castillo
(Brunswick 41082), vocals by the Matamoros Trio (Okeh
16711 and 6707, duets, bv Chaves and Lugo (Columbia
4218-X). songs by Louis M. Banuelos (Columbia 4195-X), a
very bright Paso Doble coupling of Soldadito Espanol and
aya Veronica by Marek Weber’s orchestra (Victor 46943),
songs by Tota Cuizar (Victor 46880-1).
430
The Phonograph Monthly Review
The Phonophile's Bookshelf
That Matter of Class
Phonophotography in Folk Music. American Negro
Songs in New Notation. By Milton Metfessel. With an
Introduction by Carl E. Seashore. Chapel Hill, North Caro-
lina: The University of North Carolina Press. 181 pages.
$3.00.
This is a book of graphs of Negro folk songs, draw^
ings of music. It has about as much relation to music as
blueprints have to houses, with the difference that these
drawings were made after the event instead of before. It
is not music; it does not genuinely represent music; but it
does discourse in conventional terms about music. The
value of graphical discourse is that it permits discussion of
otherwise inaccessible material, and the success of the par-
ticular convention will lie in the degree of fidelity maintained
to the substance in discussion.
There are two modes in which, with regard to music, con-
ventional discussion is useful. One is the mode by which a
given music is transmitted, in default of the living voice,
from person to person. Here we have musical scores, words
and notes, intended to make original reproduction possible.
These graphs have no purpose in this connection. The other
mode is that which deals with the so-called scientific analy-
sis of music performed. It is not only a reversal of the first
mode. It does not merely bring back to paper what may
have come from paper, it does not stop with transcription,
or with simple notation. It goes further. It is a mode of
physical analysis of a particular production. It describes
how a given singer, Jones, sang a particular song, X, on a
specified date. The description is intended to be minute and
physical; it records the smallest variations of tone and pitch.
It is like a description of the transactions between two mole-
cules of different elements. As it proceeds, it may with luck
reach the degree of abstraction required to describe the ac-
tivities of electrons.
With relation to the technical problems of folk music such
a mode of description has undoubted uses. It will show, for
example, exactly what intervals were employed by the par-
ticular singer in a particular song; and in conjunction with
similar descriptions of other singers and other songs it will
promote the gathering of reliable statistics about a whole
field of folk music, and elucidate the relation of that music
with other music, with, for example, what we call conven-
tional, or European music. Any extension of the description
of music beyond this exceedingly scholarly realm will be the
extension of irrelevant curiosity. It would be like the pur-
suit of the chemistry of ivory in the study of the game of
chess, or the construction of aluminum in the making of
cake. Time will be consumed and pure amusement result.
The scholia of the arts is full of such irrelevance, for the
very good reason that the substance of the arts themselves
is actually inaccessible.
Nevertheless, this science may be the bridge to a secondary
art with which we users of phonograph records may be much
concerned. What Professor Metfessel and his collaborators
have done is, so far as the understanding of music itself is
concerned, very little. They have shown us the order in
which certain sounds arise under certain circumstances, and
they have given us exact names for some of the sounds; in
so doing they have by necessity divorced those sounds from
their expressive context which is music. To believe that their
descriptions would aid in the creation of music is very like
believing that a painter would help his brush if in sketching
a tree he should first put in order and name each of the
leaves on another painter’s tree. But it may very well be
that the mode of description here outlined would be of use
in the secondary art of the performer and in the tertiary art
of the recorder.
The question was raised in the correspondence of a recent
issue of this magazine, Why are some good singers bad on
the records and some good? and why, further, do some med-
iocre singers reproduce better on a record or over the radio
than in a concert hall with viva voce f Here is a technical
field, a really scientific field, where the Metfessel method may
be of practical value, providing the answers rendered sug-
gest a remedy for the defects of the good singer. The preser-
vation of the paradox of the successful mediocrity would not
be illuminating.
Using a phonophotographic system similar to that described
in this book, the method of procedure would be initially
simple. Graphs would be made under experimental condi-
tions of several singers’ work direct from the voice and also
from the record. The various comparisons that could then
be made ostentatiously suggest themselves. Whether the
differences of reproduction could then be assigned to teach-
able habits of the several organs of singing is one consequent
question. Another is whether experiments could be made on
the reproductive mechanism, that is in the mechanism of the
phonograph itself, and also on the mechanism for recording.
Some facts are so far evident. Some effects of some voices
do not record or do not reproduce well — more likely the
former. Some effects of some voices improve with record-
ing; that is, the process of recording is not a process of dupli-
cation and the result is not an equivalence, but the very
process of recording involves a series of changes in sound
wave lengths — these being the physical matter of music. The
control or eradication of these changes may be made me-
chanically possible through a precise notation of sung and
recorded sound, and the effort is certainly worth considerable
labour and experiment.
The likelihood that such an experiment would fail is itself
instructive and even inspiring— or at least should be to the
performer; it suggests another line of effort, more in keeping
with existing practice; the effort of the performer to submit
to his instrument, to realize that in a sense his instrument
is his master, in the sense, that is, that it imposes conditions
on the art which when recognized improve the quality of the
art itself. The singer, for instance, who while quite success-
ful on the concert platform yet fails comparatively on the
record or the radio would either quit reproducing or go to
school to the successful reproducer. We have a ready illus-
tration of such a school on the air. It took only a short time
of professional broadcasting to make plain the fact that the
“crooning” voice of a Rudy Vallee and the crooning tone of
a sax were especially adapted to the mike. A good many
voices have been trained and a good deal of music written
with these facts in mind. The results are deplorable from any
standard of instructed taste, but the results are very sugges-
tive. Similarly, in the talkies, there is the interesting fact
that most women’s voices and high-piched voices in general
come through rather poorly in comparison to the heavier pitch
of the masculine voice. Apparently, too, the talkies are
selective, choosing in the voice of Greta Garbo, or of Marie
Dressier, or Gloria Swanson, only part of the voice to re-
produce— as it here happens the best part; and in other
voices like that of Nancy Carroll or the singing voice of
Bebe Daniels or Gloria Swanson, accenting the high and
metallic qualities. Many other facts could be doubtless ad-
duced for which there is no room here. Some of these de-
fects will be reduced with mechanical practice, others, so far
as machines go, must remain. Let us suppose that any given
moment — and the present moment will do as well as any
for the purposes of argument— in the history of the mechanics
of sound reproduction represents all plausible perfection.
The onus of perfect work falls on the performer; he is sad-
dled with the necessity for what many people mildly call
genius but what is more effectively called class. Class is a
term used in prize-fighting, baseball, acting, football, and
running — not to mention golf and tennis and billiards. It
is what, other things being equal, makes one man win. Demp-
sey had class and his successors have not. Sarasate and
Pablo Casals have class: the composers they play did not
need it. Everybody knows what class is, but nobody knows
what it consists of; that is they know what it is by direct
experience alone. It refuses to submit to analysis in that
it has no parts open to analysis. On the other hand it is
sometimes teachable or miraculously transmissible. The late
September, 1930, Vol. IV, No. 12
431
Leopold Auer had the talent above all others to transmit
class to fiddlers; that is why his pupils come back to him
every once in so often for a renewal of the application.
If this notion of class be separated from the notion of vir-
tuosity, it may be conceived that class can be taught by
example, by feeding the intuitions of the muscles and nerves
of those singers who have any original aptitude for reproduc-
tion, just as those muscles and nerves have already been
taught all that they know about ordinary singing. There will
be no rules to lay down and no demonstrable principles; it
is not the part of art that submits to ordinary pedagogy
which acquires class. But there is a great deal of information,
much fundamental data, with w r hich the earnest student
might be confronted. That is where the work we have been
supposing Metfessel to have done might be applied; that
work would show, if properly graphed, what types of voice-
uses exhibited class and what did not, and they would show,
roughly, pictorially, how those voices acted in maintaining
that class.
To return to the mechanical end of the horn, which is the
more important to work on, because once finished it is rigid
and demands so much of its user, might it not be that such
graphs would suggest how class might best be exhibited in
the phonograph, the radio, and the talkie, themselves? At
least that is the angle from which experiments should be
carried out. R. P. Blackmur
Music and Youth
Music Appreciation for Children. Camden, N. J., Edu-
cational Department of the RCA-Victor Company. 320 pp.
SI. 75.
.Music and Romance. By Hazel Gertrude Kinscella. Cam-
den, N. J., Educational Department of the RCA-Victor
Company. 422 pp. $2.25.
Music Appreciation for Children is a completely revised
edition of an earlier textbook, Music Appreciation with the
Victrola for Children , covering a definitely organized course
in the teaching of music appreciation in the elementary
grades (1 to 6). Music and Romance continues the course
through the Junior High School, where it is carried on
through Senior High School and college by What We Hear'
in Music (reviewed last month.)
The underlying principle of the entire series is a system-
atic and progressive arrangement of material. Herein lies
its superiority to the ordinary types of appreciation courses
that attempt to operate within too limited confines, jump-
ing haphazardly from type to type, and illustrated by scat-
tering examples that no matter how interesting or attractive
in themselves can give no clear idea of the orderly and in-
creasingly complex progression in musical forms, a mastery
of which is essential to a proper musical perspective and an
understanding of musical architectonics.
The body of the first book consists of twenty-eight study
programs for each of the first six grades, with profuse record-
ed illustrations. There are notes on the childhood of the
various composers, boyhood pictures of many of them, notes
on the correlation of music with other arts and branches of
study, a long section of informational notes on musical il-
lustrations, a glossary and pronunciation table. Preceding
all this is a study, for the teacher, of the function of music
appreciation and its place in education and the fundamental
sources of musical enjoyment, and a particularly fine exam-
ination of some of the problems involved in the teaching of
music in the schools, the organization of materials, and the
methods by which they may best be presented.
Music and Romance was written by Miss Kinscella, au-
thor of a number of piano instruction books and Music Ap-
preciation Readers, to meet the very definite musical needs
of the adolescent. The awakening interest in the exotic cus-
toms and folk lore of other nationalities, in romantic and
programmatic music, in heroic balladry and the strongly na-
tionalistic expression of such composers as Sibelius and Sme-
tana, all offer a logical approach for the wise teacher to
link music with the adolescent’s expanding life and imagina-
tion. Strict analysis of the sonata pattern and the great
symphonies is wisely deferred to a later stage, but a strong
foundation is laid upon the simpler forms. Folk song, folk-
dance, suite and overture, the best of lighter music, with
particular emphasis on colorful, romantic, and heroic quali-
ties, open up one of the most charming musical worlds as
well as lead logically into the complex labyrinth of the
higher classical and modern forms.
In brief outline the course of study is as follows: melodies —
familiar and national ; tunes and patterns — the beginnings
of musical forms; types of vocal, lyric, chamber, and pro-
grammatic music ; rondos, ballets, suites, and early sym-
phonic music; nationality in modern symphonic music; fam-
ous preludes; oriental music; music of the American Indian
and Negro; familiar classics; early and later opera; music
for the piano and its ancestors; modern ballets and chamber
music; Edward Macdowell; influence of modern life on mu-
sic; the Wagnerian music drama.
There are many pictures, not only of composers (such mod-
erns as Strawinski, Sibelius, Bloch, Schelling, among them),
but also of scenes associated with composers or their works,
and national costumes. There are the usual biographical
notes, glossary, pronunciation table, and lists of records.
Both books are invaluable to the educator, as is attested
by the growing popularity of the series in American schools,
or the systematic hearing of music in one’s own home. Music
and Romance will appeal as well to the layman by reasons of
its extended scope and its attractive presentation of infor-
mation and side-lights on many of the best recorded works.
It is an extremely difficult task to present a study course in
such fashion that the book makes interesting reading alto-
gether apart from its class-room purpose. Musical pedagogy
has lost much of its old short-sightedness and as evidenced
so effectively here it recognizes that information is not in-
compatible with entertainment.
Paul Robeson, Negro
Paul Robeson, Negro. By Eslanda Goode Robeson. New
York, Harper & Brothers. 178 pp. $2.50.
Robeson’s career and the qualities of the man himself
encourage unreserved praise. It is hard to consider him cri-
tically. In his life as in his singing there is a spl)end|M
strong simplicity that is almost overwhelmingly convincing.
To portray the man a biographer is needed whose sincerity
and unpretentiousness equal that of Robeson himself. His
wife, unfortunately, either gushes or assumes a tone of in-
timate chattiness, and her unremitting emphasis on Robe-
son’s friendship with artistic notables (referred to familiarly
by their first names) amounts almost to an obsession. Robe-
son is undoubtedly a man of little business capability and in all
likelihood his wife’s management of his concerts and tours
has been highly efficient. But the mothering attitude she
assumes in her biography is a little too complacent and
permits no truly penetrating inquiry into the man’s essential
qualities and gifts. The book’s merits lie almost wholly in
such biographical facts as it contains, although the mere
story of an athlete’s rise to world eminence on concert
and dramatic stages could not fail to be interesting no mat-
ter how myoptic the vision of the narrator.
There are occasional phonographic references that will
arouse the attention of discographers. Robeson introduced
the blues singing of Ethel Waters and Bessie and Clara
Smith to his Jriends through records. Glenway Wescott
made Robeson acquainted with art of Elena Gerhardt
through her recordings; Rex Ingram played him examples of
his favorite records of Arabian music. Later, in London,
Robeson speaks of the Gramophone Company (H. M. V.)
sending him the Beethoven violin concerto (with Kreisler),
the Cesar Franck symphony, the Schubert trio in B flat, and
“a lot more grand records.”
Robeson’s own recordings have been reviewed in these
pages as they appeared and it is hardly necessary to empha-
size again their attractions. Yet, after reading this biography
by one who is so close to Robeson and yet apparently glimps-
es not at all the true artistic stature of the man, it is pleas-
aint to restore one’s faith in his rare and modest genius by
playing again some of the recorded examples of his singing.
At once Mrs. Robeson’s clay model of the good-natured,
boyish hero of Harlem, pal of “Gene” O’Neill and other
celebrities, merges into a truer and more lonely figure, who
can bring to Negro Spiritual and Shakespeare’s Othello alike
clairvoyant insight and superb expressive power. F. F.
The photograph on the front cover of this is-
sue is of Alexander Brailowsky, exclusive
Brunswick-Polydor artist. Mr. Brailowsky’s
latest Brunswick release is reviewed on page
426 of this issue.
432
The Phonograph Monthly Review
CONTENTS FOR SEPTEMBER
Photograph on the front cover: Alexander Brailowsky,
exclusive Brunswick-Polydor artist
Articles
IJNRIVAI I FD
60,000 addresses
From the Rio Grande to Cape Horn — 1 . Recorded Mexican
Music 399
W. S. Marsh
The Ballets of Strawinski — 2 . Firebird; 3 . Pulcinella 402
William Henry Seltsam
The 1930-1931 Phono-Radio Models 404
Heinrich Schlusnus — Master Singer 410
Richardson Brown
Paul Tremaine and his Dance Records : 419
"Rufus”
That Matter of Class 430
R. P. Blackmur
of manufacturers
publishers
wholesalers
retailers
of instruments
music
talking machines
radio
ALL THE WORLD OVER
,or $4
Featu res
Editorial 397
Phonographic Echoes 401, 403, 412
New European Releases 312
Correspondence 413
Reviews
MUSIQUE-ADRESSES
UNIVERSEL
1950
The Chopin Concertos (Nicholas Slonimsky) 419
Salome ’s Dance (W. H. Seltsam) 420
Rachmaninoff’s Toteninsel (Nicholas Slonimsky) 421
Bax’s Tintagel and Mediterranean (Peter Hugh -Reed) ....421
Pagliacci (R. B.) 422
Schumann’s Damdshundlertdnze (E. Y. G.) 423
Orchestral 423
Choral 424
Operatic . 425
Songs 425
Instrumental .....426
Band 427
Popular 427
Dance 428
Foreign 429
Phonophotography in Folk Music (R. P. Blackmur) 430
Music and Youth (F. F.) 431
Paul Robeson , Negro (F. F.) 431
Mart and Exchange
RATES : Advertisements will be accepted for this col-
umn at the rate of five cents a word with a minimum charge
of one dollar. The advertiser’s name and address will be
charged for, single letters and single figures will be counted
as words ; compound words as two words. All Advertise-
ments must be prepared and be addressed to the Advertis-
ing Department, THE PHONOGRAPH MONTHLY RE-
VIEW, 5 Boylston Street, Cambridge, Mass. Should the ad-
vertiser desire his announcement to be addressed to a box
number in care of the magazine, ten cents extra for the for-
warding of replies must be included.
WANTED
THREE OUT OF PRINT issues of the first year
of The Phonograph Monthly Review (November
1926, March and May 1927). Box 141F, Phonograph
Monthly Review.
FOR SALE
RECORD COLLECTORS— Exclusive Edison Dia-
mond Disc Records by Mario Laurenti (1922), form-
er baritone Metropolitan. Also exclusive and his-
toric Edison records by Zenatello, Ciccolini, and
others, with explanatory talks — $3.00 each, unused.
Rare records bought and sold, perfect condition only.
W. L. Welsh, Nanticoke, Penna.
International Directory of the Music Trades
JUST OUT!
15 rue de Madrid, Paris (France)
Back Files of the P. M. R.
A very few sets of Volume I (9 issues) and
Volume II (complete) are still available. Price
$6.00 per set, postpaid.
Volume III (complete), $5.00.
Indices to Volumes I, II, and III, $2.00.
Address the Circulation Department
5 BOYLSTON ST. CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
SUBSCRIPTION ORDER
Date
THE PHONOGRAPH MONTHLY REVIEW
The Phonograph Publishing Co., Inc.
5 Boylston Street, Cambridge, Mass.
Enclosed please find check for $4.00 in pay-
nonev order
ment for The Phonograph Monthly Review for one
year beginning with the issue.
Name
Street
Town
Yearly subscription price for
Canada and other foreign
countries $5.00, postage prepaid
•OSTON UN41YPI PRINT.
Q^
FAME
12
RELEAS ES
FOR THE
SEPTEMBER
MONTH OF
f
... .. ABRIDGED OPERA
Album No. 21 BIZET -CARMEN (In French)
Iaaa^i- . Opera in four acts, founded on a Novel of Prosper Merimee
{ 90075 inc.
by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy.
SOLOISTS AND CHORUS OF THE OPERA COMIQUE, PARIS— ORCHESTRE LAMOUREUX
Albert Wolff, Conductor
Recorded in Europe
COMPLETE WITH
ENGLISH LIBRETTO
PRICE $ 7.50
,
ORCHESTRA
9 0 0*7 6 WAGNER-LOHENGRIN ........ Prelude to Act 1 (Parts 1 and 2)
THE STATE OPERA ORCHESTRA, BERLIN— Max Von Schillings, Conductor
{
9 0 0 7 7 WAGNER— A FAUST OVERTURE Parts 1, 2 and 3
9 0 0 7 8 THE STATE OPERA ORCHESTRA, BERLIN-Oscar Fried, Conductor
SCHUBERT-LISZT- HUNGARIAN MARCH C MINOR
THE OPERA ORCHESTRA, BERLIN-CH ARLOTTENBURG — Alois Melichar, Conductor
Recorded in Europe
PR'CE $ 1.50
Recorded in Europe
PRICE $ 3.00
for both records
9 0 0 7 9
9 0 0 8 0
9 0 0 8 1
INSTRUMENTAL
SCARLATTI-TAUSIG— PASTORALE— CAPRICCIO
WEBER— PERPETUUM MOBILE
Piano Solo ALEXANDER BRAILOWSKY
(Perpetual Motion)
BORODIN QUARTET D MAJOR . . Third Movement (Parts 1 and 2) (Notturno)
GUARNERI STRING QUARTET (Karpilowsky, Stromfeld, Kroyt, Lutz)
VOCAL
WAGNER THE FLYING DUTCHMAN . . Versank ich jetzt in wunderbares Traumen
(How Wondrous Strange) (Act 11) (Parts 1 and 2)
Duet with Orchestra Accompaniment — In German ELISABETH OHMS, Soprano
and THEODOR scheidl. Baritone, Conducted by Julius Pruwer
Recorded in Europe
PRICE $ 1.50
Recorded in Europe
PRICE $ 1.50
Recorded in Europe
PRICE $ 1.50
dZnmsimck JLecorch
BRUNSWICK RADIO CORPORATI ON
SUBSIDIARY OF WARNER BROS. PICTURES, INC-
116-120 WEST 42nd STREET, NEW YORK, N. Y. BRANCHES AND DISTRIBUTORS IN PRINCIPAL CITIES
H ere ? s the first Radio with
NO DEAD SPOTS
ON THE DIAL
. . and No Overlapping !
The new
COLUMBIA Tele-focal BADIO
Model C20— COLUMBIA Tele'focal RADIO
Low'boy cabinet adapted from early English.
Carved quarterLoil ornaments. Beautiful walnut Magic
finish. Price, less tubes, $145.00
Model C21— COLUMBIA Tele'focal RADIO
High'boy cabinet, influenced by early Carolean
Period. Exquisitely carved frieze over doors.
Price, less tubes, $185.00
Rotes’’
Hear a dial-full of TELE-FOCAL Radio performances to-day
Columbia Phonograph Co.
1819 Broadway New York
The new Columbia Tele'focal Radio is the
very newest radio engineering advance. It
has Automatic Volume Control accomplished
with only one tube instead of the usual two.
This new Columbia Tele'focal Radio pulls in
stations for you on almost every notch of its
dial! New stations you’ve never heard be'
fore. The distant, low'powered or “crowded”
programs you’ve been missing. Giving you
more variety, finer radio reception than you
ever thought possible. Every station comes
in sharp and clear.
Live Music
Archive
Librivox
Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland
Museum of Art
Internet
Arcade
Console Living Room
Open Library
American
Libraries
TV News
Understanding
9/11